Irresistible Fate
by Lady in the Willows
Summary: Sequel to Unlikely Fate. Emma still doesn't remember Josef and he does what he swore he would never want to do. Meanwhile, two witches hunt Naomi with Mick's help. Soon Emma is plunged back into a world she can barely remember but could never forget.
1. Prologue: The Witches

Disclaimer: I do not own Moonlight

**Irresistible Fate**

Prologue: The Witches

"Shit!" Mona winced as a green glass bottle smashed against the wall. Her sister's cursing made her let out a deep sigh. Apparently there hadn't been any satisfying results.

"Is all that really necessary?" she asked. Andy glared over her shoulder at her calm older sister reclining on the motel bed. They could have passed for twins except Andy was taller and her nose was less pointed. They both had shoulder length brown hair and blue eyes. Well, Mona used to have blue eyes.

"It makes me feel better." Andy turned her resentful gaze back on the glass and made a brief gesture. The broken pieces turned to smoke, gradually moving out the open window.

"I'd prefer you didn't use magic frivolously. We need to conserve, remember?" Mona fumbled a little as she reached for the glass on the bedside table. "Here," she said, holding it out to her sister. "Try again."

"There's no point," Andy snapped. "I'm useless at scrying. You have the better eyes." A tense silence fell over both sisters as the meaning of those words sank in. Mona raised her hand and waved it in front of her face. The blackness that made up her world remained. No change.

"I used to have the better eyes," she murmured. "But it's not just about vision, it's about patience."

"Another thing I don't have." Andy sat on the end of the bed, her temper cooling. One look at her sister's white, blind eyes worked wonders on her impulsive nature. "Mom would be ashamed of me."

"Don't be ridiculous," Mona said, sitting up straighter. "You've tried your best. I just hoped…"

"Hoped I wouldn't be useless," Andy put in.

"Hoped we might get lucky," she corrected, frowning at her sister's defeated tone. "Still, we aren't out of options."

"Oh, aren't we? I can't scry for her, we can't sense her magic because of all the New Age practitioners clogging up the works and we haven't been able to find her on the street for months. How are we not out of options?"

"We'll just have to do it the old fashioned way," Mona said. "Detective work. We need to find out exactly what she wants. It follows that if we get to what she wants, we'll find her."

"We know what Naomi wants," Andy pointed out. "More time."

"That's true but I think there's more to it than that." Mona chewed her bottom lip as she thought. "After all, we're in Los Angeles. This place is bristling with vampires. She could have picked one of them out when she first came here, scammed them and taken what she wanted."

"I think I'm starting to get your point," Andy said, her expression of doom lightening. "There are a few hundred vamps living in this city. Why didn't Naomi snatch one?"

"Maybe she wants more than just a few decades to burn. The majority of the vampires here aren't very old. I'd be surprised if there were twelve over one hundred years." Mona got off the bed, cautiously touching the bedside table to make sure she wouldn't bang into it again. It was more difficult to pace these days but it was still the best way for her to think.

"So she wants an old vampire. Don't they move around a lot? How can she be sure there's one in L.A.?" she asked, watching Mona's precise steps. She'd memorized the steps she needed to take in order to maneuver around the room. It was good that she was adapting but at the same time it hurt. Andy didn't want her sister to have to learn to live with a disability. She wanted it gone. To do that, they needed to track down Naomi and stop her from hurting anyone else.

"There's probably one that's made this his home for more than ten years, even if his presence wasn't felt during all that time. Naomi's wretched but she knows the smell of death. It wouldn't be too difficult for her to find an older vampire."

"What's taken her so long to get him, then?"

"Think about it, Andy. An older vampire isn't as foolish as a young one. Naomi would need a different plan. That would take time and research. She loves to toy with her prey and she wouldn't break her pattern just because she had a coven of witches on her trail." Andy thought about that for a minute.

"She'd need to know his weakness," she murmured. "Six months ago when there was that power surge in the hospital but we couldn't find Naomi, do you think she's granted him a favor he doesn't really want?" Mona paused.

"You're going to have to explain the logic there."

"Well, what would Naomi be doing in a hospital? It has to be connected to this vampire's weakness," Andy pointed out. Her sister grinned.

"That's perfect. So we have Naomi at a hospital, probably taking the next step in her little game to reel her vampire in."

"And since vampires don't usually frequent hospitals, this has to connect to a human," Andy said, getting excited. They were finally making progress. Mona nodded slightly.

"The problem is, we can theorize all we like but we don't know anything concrete." She sighed. "I think we need help."

"What kind of help? It's not as if we can go to the police with all this," Andy protested. The idea was laughable. They'd either be locked up for drunkenness or sent to an insane asylum. Neither prospect was appealing.

"No, not the police," she murmured. "We need to keep this much quieter than that. Can't have the general populace knowing that an evil witch roams the streets." Andy ran her tongue along the edge of her teeth, thinking it over. Then she smirked.

"I guess we'll be needing a private investigator."


	2. The Rogue

Chapter One: The Rogue

Emmaline Bradford, known as Emma to her friends, did her best to fight back a yawn. She'd had a very long week. Well, more like a long six months. The shadows under her moss green eyes only hinted at her insomnia. The full extent of it was a little more extreme. She managed to snatch a few hours but no more. Ever since her accident and waking up from that coma, headaches and shakiness plagued her. That was extremely inconvenient since her hands trembled the most often and she needed them to mold clay and sketch. Clay Café, the place she'd poured her life into for more than four years, was still thriving but she worried about her own career as an artist. It was something like a side job of the business but it was a side she loved.

Contrary to what the doctors had told her, the headaches didn't get any better. During the day the dull throbbing in her head was tolerable but at night the pain escalated. Emma pushed a strand of black hair behind her ear. Perhaps if she cut her hair the headaches would lessen. It reached her hips so maybe the weight made the pain worse. She rolled her eyes. Now she was getting desperate. The medication worked but only temporarily, sort of like how alcohol solved problems. They went away for a little while but always came around to bite her again.

"Emma?" She blinked, trying to focus on what was happening around her. Brandon was looking concerned. Of course, she'd been worrying her boyfriend a lot lately. It was a surprise that gray hairs hadn't appeared in his brown hair. As it was, his gray eyes looked tired. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She knew she was ruining their date. Staring blankly at her dinner wasn't the way to make the best of the time they had together. Emma smiled. "You must be excited about that trip you're taking to Belgium. You'll get some beautiful pictures there."

"I've had my cameras packed for a month." Brandon still looked worried, as if he was trying to decide how to tell her something. "I'm just… I'm not sure if I should go."

"What? But you were so excited about it. You have to go," Emma protested.

"That was before the nightmares got worse and you started to look like you were going to drop dead any minute." She frowned.

"I do not look that bad." He raised a brow.

"Emma, you're beautiful but you look exhausted."

"So I'm a little tired. That doesn't mean you have to cancel a trip that would be really good for your career. And I don't look like the walking dead," she muttered.

"You've been distracted lately," Brandon pointed out. "You keep forgetting where you've put things."

"I'm thirty. My memory isn't as sharp as it used to be," she defended. However, she felt ashamed when he set her engagement ring on the table. That was the thing she forgot most. She would set it down somewhere and then forget it existed. The band was gold and there was one square-cut diamond. It was pretty. "I think I need a chain for it," Emma said quietly as she slipped it onto her left hand. "It'll get ruined if I wear it while I'm working."

"I'll get one for you," Brandon said. He squeezed her hand gently. "I love you, Emma. I'm not saying all this to attack you. I am genuinely worried."

"I know you're worried, Brandon. You have to trust me when I say I'm going to be all right. It's all probably just stress and I'll get a nice vacation on our honeymoon." She kissed him lightly then smiled. "Now, I have really got to go to the bathroom." Emma stood up and made her way to the back of the restaurant. Guilt gnawed at her insides. She wasn't going to the bathroom. Air was what she needed.

Emma quietly slipped out the back door and leaned against a wall in the alley. There was no moon that night. Everything was black. For some reason that soothed her. Darkness in general soothed her. The medication probably made her light sensitive. That made sense.

Why did she hate that it made sense? Something besides guilt was gnawing at her. A feeling that all was not right with the world, that the month she'd forgotten after she'd woken up at the hospital was more important than she'd realized. Of course, it was important because that was when she and Brand had started dating but was that really all there was to it? There had to be more. She wouldn't feel so frustrated if there wasn't more.

Emma pressed a hand to her forehead, the beginnings of a headache brewing inside. Likely she was just stressed. All this angst was probably anxiety about the wedding. Anxiety and stress weren't good for anyone's system. So she was reacting badly. There were worse things. This constant flip-flop between paranoia and sanity was starting to really get on her nerves.

The hair on the back of her neck prickled. She couldn't say why but suddenly she felt like someone was watching her. There hadn't been any noise to give it away, not the slightest movement. "Who's there?" she whispered. Immediately her mind went to the report she'd seen on BuzzWire. People had been turning up dead, their necks slashed and their bodies drained of blood. Lingering in a pitch-black alley wasn't the best way to stay alive. Emma made a move for the door and whatever was watching her flew into action.

A hand took her arm in a bone-crushing grip then tossed her against the opposite wall. Emma felt her head rattle as the breath was knocked out of her by the impact. She gasped for air. Her attacked fastened a hand around her throat, cutting off her windpipe. "Please," she rasped.

"I'm sorry." Emma could recognize a female voice even through the desperate need for air. "I'm just so hungry." Fangs sank into the place where her neck met her shoulder and she couldn't scream. Her head was spinning, her vision probably darkening even though she couldn't tell in the already black night.

_ "You have to understand, Emma, I've been in you nearly every way a vampire can be." _The voice in her head didn't make any sense. Still, the sensation tearing at her throat was familiar. She knew it. Before she could figure out how she knew it she fainted, lack of air finally defeating her.

The fledgling vampire wasn't prepared for what slammed into her body, tearing her away from her meal and grinding her into the pavement. She fought against what she knew was a male of her species. The inhuman eyes and fangs made it obvious. He was older, stronger. She didn't have a chance. A stake pierced her heart and she went still.

The older vampire moved with preternatural speed, coming to a stop at Emma's side. He reached into his pocket and drew out a handkerchief. As he pressed that against the bleeding wound on her neck he dialed a number on his cell phone. His words were short and clipped as he provided the location of the body then he immediately hung up.

Josef Kostan didn't know what to do with his damsel in distress. He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to take her home, care for her, and make her remember him. Unfortunately that would never be an option. She was alive because he'd given up their life together. Josef couldn't go back on the bargain he'd made.

"You get yourself into the worst sort of trouble," he murmured, pulling Emma's limp body into his arms. He needed to get her out of the alley before the Cleaner and her team arrived.

Dimly, Emma was aware of fabric brushing against her skin. There was a scent, something warm and rich and intensely familiar. She knew she should start panicking as she grew more conscious but she didn't. Instead she felt relieved, safe. Even though her neck felt achy and sore, Emma hadn't felt this good for a long time.

Josef's grip on Emma tightened when she turned to nuzzle against his chest. The vampire in him was going mad, needing to take her somewhere quiet so he could wipe the scent of Brandon off her skin and replace it with his own. He'd forgotten how potent the feel and smell of her flesh could be, clay and grapefruit wafting into his all too sensitive nose.

"Do I know you?" He stiffened. She hadn't opened her eyes. Probably too exhausted to try, if her nightly pacing was any indication. Josef didn't like to think he was stalking her. He needed to see her. His sanity depended on it. However, she was not supposed to see him. Naomi had been very clear about that. Memories were tricky things. Too many reminders and Emma could remember everything.

At the mouth of the alley he set her down, keeping behind her at all times. Emma felt a little more awake and lively now. Instinct was telling her to spin around and look at her rescuer but he had a very firm grip on her arms.

"You need to go back inside. Tell people you fell on something sharp." He could tell that the bleeding had stopped. She would be all right. "Be more careful next time."

"I appreciate the advice but I would appreciate your name even more," Emma told him, stilling trying to twist around in his arms. Josef closed his eyes and nuzzled her hair, his desperate senses hungry for every touch and scent. Then he let go, vanishing into the night.

Josef was fast but she had seen something. A blur, true, but a blur she recognized. She knew it. The name was on the tip of her tongue when a vicious headache tore through her skull. Emma groaned, stumbling towards the restaurant entrance to find Brandon and her medication. For Josef it wasn't as simple. The rage and pain were too much to shake off by running so he took out his frustration on a mailbox. At least it used to be a mailbox. Once he regained control, the futility of it all overwhelmed him. He'd saved Emma's life but what had he saved it for? She wasn't happy. Josef could see it on her, even smell it. And he was more than miserable. His jaw tightened as he straightened his suit jacket. There had to be a way of reversing it and if anyone could find it, a man who had Josef's kind of resources could.

From the roof of a nearby building, Naomi smirked. The plan had gone off without a hitch. She really did love fledglings. All they needed was the tiniest bit of direction and off they went, ready to wreak havoc. And now Josef was desperate and Emma was no longer a threat. Naomi's smirk widened into a truly evil grin.

It was time to end it.


	3. The Case

Chapter Two: The Case

Mick St. John wasn't thrilled about the insistent knocks on his door. He'd spent the night tracking a fledgling vampire who'd gone rogue only to find out that the Cleaner had been called in to pick up her corpse early in the evening. As a result he was both hungry and tired, not to mention frustrated. Still, he had to at least tell whoever was at the door that he was closed for the day. Technically it was business hours so it was unlikely that they'd go away on their own.

He washed out his glass, making sure no obvious signs of blood were noticeable, then went to the door. Mick could smell them before he saw them on his security camera. Two young women, not even over twenty-five, were waiting outside. The taller one was wearing scuffed boots and an impatient expression. The woman beside her wore a sundress of light blue and dark sunglasses that covered her eyes. Their appearances weren't out of the ordinary. But the smell was unique. He couldn't even place it. There were herbs and a trace of incense but something more.

"Mr. St. John," the shorter one said, a wry smile curving her lips. "Are you going to open the door or stand there all morning?" Mick frowned. How had she known he was there? Cautiously, he unlocked his door and opened it wide.

"Hi," the more impatient of the two said, holding out her hand. "I'm Andy Brodrick. This is my sister, Mona." Mona inclined her head to him as he shook her sister's hand.

"Mick St. John, although you two seem to know that already."

"You were in the phonebook," Mona told him. There was an air of serenity about her that gave Mick the feeling of young child facing an elderly person who'd seen it all and done it all. It was an absurd sensation, seeing as he was twice this woman's age.

"Right. Come on in." Internally he sighed. His freezer was starting to look like a distant memory. As much as he'd like to dismiss these two, Mick knew trouble when it was staring him in the eye. These girls were in it.

"Thanks for seeing us this early," Andy said. He noticed that she was guiding her sister. The dark glasses made sense. Mona had to be blind. "Pretty impressive digs for a P.I." Andy couldn't help but notice that his apartment was spacious and very tastefully furnished. Stylish in the way one usually only saw on TV and magazines. And model homes. There was no mess, no clutter, nothing. No way a human male lived here.

"It pays the rent," Mick said. Andy was very observant and obviously suspicious of everything around her. He would probably feel the same way if he had a sister to look after. "My office is this way." He held the door open for them and waited until they were seated before he sat down behind the desk. "All right, what do you need a private investigator for?"

"It would probably be more helpful if we got the secrets out of the way first. Then we can get down to the real trouble," Mona said. "We're witches and you're a vampire." Mick was struck dumb. A man shouldn't have to deal with this so early in the morning, especially when he was in desperate need of an ice-cold freezer.

"Well, that's an interesting idea but you've got the wrong idea about me," he said at last, humoring them both with a smile. Andy rolled her eyes.

"She's blind, not stupid."

"Honestly, it's all right. We usually have to keep what we are confidential as well but we can't afford to play that game with you. We don't have the time," Mona admitted. Mick's first instinct was to push them out the door. Half of him still wanted to listen, though, even if he was in danger.

"Vampires don't exist," he told her. "And neither do witches, for that matter."

"I can assure you that both do," Mona said. "You already know the truth about vampires. It's a little hypocritical of you to doubt the existence of other supernatural beings."

"Look, I'm not sure what you two are trying to prove but I don't know anything about vampires."

"Which is why you keep a blood supply in your refrigerator. Not in the one you can see from the door with the few pieces of food that are used as props to keep the world fooled but in the one you keep hidden. I could probably direct Andy to it. I might break some of the glasses you keep in front of it if I start fumbling around." She could feel the tension rolling off of him in waves. Mona smiled gently. "Extrasensory perception, one of the many things I learned after years of meditation and patience."

"One of the things she didn't lose when her sight was taken," Andy put in. She leaned forward, keeping eye contact with Mick. "We are not your enemies, Mr. St. John. We need your help. A regular investigator wouldn't do seeing as we're delving into the supernatural world and none of us can afford exposure." Mick didn't know what to make of all this. He didn't believe in witches. They were fictional characters. Of course, he hadn't believed in vampires until he'd been turned.

"Let's say, hypothetically, that I am a vampire and you two are witches. Why do you need my help?" He was opening Pandora's box here; he could feel it.

"We're trying to find an enemy of ours before she gets the opportunity to kill more people," Mona told him.

"Is she a, uh…?" Mick began, struggling to get his mind around this new possibility.

"She's an evil bitch from hell," Andy muttered. Mona sighed.

"While that is true, I think Mr. St. John wants to know if she is like us. Naomi is a witch but she does not play by our rules."

"So she's a wicked witch?" Mick asked, unable to help himself. Andy didn't look amused but Mona couldn't prevent a tiny smile.

"Naomi has been alive far longer than is natural. She uses dark magic, manipulating negative forces and avoiding the consequences. Our job is to strip away her protection and expose her to the forces she has tampered with."

"Then why haven't you done that?" Mick asked.

"Because we can't find her," Andy said, a little more frustration leaking through. "She's like goddamned smoke. And any time we did find her…" she trailed off and looked away. Mick frowned.

"What? What aren't you two telling me?" Mona sighed.

"It isn't that we are trying to hide things from you, Mr. St. John. They are simply very painful for us to discuss." She hesitated for a moment then slowly raised her hand and took her glasses off. Mick had seen a lot of mutilation and bloodshed in his time but never anything like that. The eyeball itself was still there but all the color was gone. That wasn't just blindness.

"What happened to you?" he asked softly, coming around the desk to kneel beside her chair.

"Naomi happened to her," Andy said. The bitterness in her voice was plain. "She dismissed me with a spell any child could have beaten down but I was too slow. Then she stole my sister's sight. We can't trace her anymore. Mona was the only one left with the talent."

"The only one left?"

"We started off with twelve in New York," Mona explained. "There were only six of the coven left when we reached L.A." That tugged at his memory. Half a year ago, an unsolved murder down at the docks had involved six women chasing one lone woman.

"Were you here six months ago?"

"Yes," Andy told him. "We lost someone right away. Unfortunately we could still stop her so we had to pursue Naomi and leave our sister behind."

"You had another sister?"

"No, not a genetic sister," Mona corrected. "Sisters in magic. We were a family, trying to do the right thing."

"Our coven has been hunting Naomi for a few centuries," Andy mentioned. "She was never this powerful before but she hasn't been bird watching during all the years she stole from other people."

"So even though she's killed off your entire coven you still want to go after her?" Mick asked. "Are witches always suicidal?"

"We don't have a choice," Andy retorted, eyes narrowing. "Who else is going to stop her?"

"We appreciate your concern," Mona cut in. She put a cautioning hand on her sister's arm. "However, there aren't any other candidates. We need your help tracking her down and then we'll take it from there." Mick frowned.

"No, that's not going to work. You're saying that there's a deadly and powerful witch loose in my town. If you're involving me then I want to be involved in all of it."

"You're not qualified for all of it," Andy snapped.

"It looks like your sister wasn't qualified for all of it, either," Mick noted, standing up straight. Mona's grip tightened on her sister as the younger woman's temper jumped.

"Touché," she murmured. "If you want to be exposed to this then we won't stop you. Just understand that you might not come out of it alive."

"According to you, I'm already dead," Mick pointed out. Mona smirked.

"More dead than you already are, then." He leaned back against the desk and crossed his arms.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about my drinking habits."

"We keep your secret, you keep ours," Andy said, forcibly controlling her instinct to verbally assault him.

"Sounds reasonable," Mick agreed. "So do you have any idea where we could start looking for her?"

"We know she's after a vampire over one hundred years old who is probably involved with a human in some way," Mona told him. "Are you familiar with anyone who might fall under that category?" The look that crossed Mick's face confused Andy. It was as if a truck had hit him.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I just… I need to make a call." He left the room quickly, leaving two confused witches behind.

"What was that about?" Andy muttered. Mona chewed her bottom lip then turned towards where she knew Andy was sitting.

"This is going to sound off topic but what did he look like?" Andy sighed.

"A little over six feet tall, wavy dark hair and his eyes change depending on the lighting. A little blue, a little brown, the confusing kind. And… Okay, he's got that strangely attractive rugged look going on and he's very trim." Mona sighed deeply.

"It's shallow but these are the times when I miss my eyes the most." Andy smiled weakly.

"Well, you'll get them back if I have anything to do with it." She squeezed her sister's hand. "Naomi won't survive meeting us again. I promise."


	4. The Trade

Chapter Three: The Trade

"You surprise me, Josef. No one has surprised me for a long time so you should be proud of yourself." Josef observed Naomi sitting at the edge of his pool, swishing her legs through the water. A white skirt was pulled up around her thighs and her white blouse was unbuttoned enough to reveal the delicate lace of her also white bra. It was true that she was attractive. Her face was smooth and strikingly beautiful. Her silver hair was a little longer, just past the top of her shoulders. Those eyes hadn't changed, though. Light blue and eerily vicious, they observed him with amusement and interest.

"I aim to surprise," Josef told her. The average person, vampire or human, would feel comfortable with a pool separating them from Naomi. However, he knew something of her power. The bargain he'd made with her had made his life a misery. The last thing he wanted was to get too close to her.

"Having your flunkies search the system for me all night long, calling all your contacts, even shouting my name out here for five minutes straight. Does that mean you want to talk to me?" she asked coyly. Her smile could only be called smug and Josef didn't care for it.

"What can I do to fix this?"

"You'll have to be a tad more specific, dear," Naomi said, staring at him innocently. A soft growl vibrated in his chest. She remained unimpressed and confident in her power. Truthfully, she was fighting the urge to let out a triumphant cry of joy. She was getting what she wanted, what she needed. The pathetic remains of the coven hunting her would be easily dispatched once she was done here and then she could devote herself to the study of the arts she'd neglected during her search for more time.

"I want Emma back," Josef bit out, eyes on the edge of turning white. "You can do that, can't you?"

"That all depends on what you're willing to pay," Naomi pointed out.

"What's the price this time? My right arm?" She chuckled.

"And what would I do with your right arm? Use it as a paperweight? No, Josef, I'm going to need something far more precious than a limb."

"Of course you will," he muttered. The cell phone in his pocket began to vibrate but Josef ignored it. He wasn't taking calls from anyone just then. "What, exactly, do you need from me?" Naomi pulled her legs out of the water and let the morning sun warm them. She loved to play but she had a deadline. It was time to get to the point.

"For what you want most, you have to sacrifice what you thought never to give." Naomi stood up and slowly walked around the pool to Josef's side. "Surrender your immortality and you can walk back into Emma's life with no consequences."

"That's impossible." He stepped away from Naomi as if she had the plague.

"What's impossible for one person is simple for another," she told him. Naomi knew better than to push. He was at the end of his rope and he knew no other option. "I managed to revive your Emma. Imagine what else I am capable of."

"Why are you so willing to help me?" Josef asked, his eyes going sharp. "If you are so powerful, wouldn't you have better things to do?" Naomi fought a scowl. Damn intelligent men. They were so rare. Why did Josef have to be one of them? Well, she could fix this little rebellion with very little effort.

"If you don't want my help, Josef, then all you had to do was say so." Naomi turned on her heel and began to walk away from him. When he snagged her arm she very nearly breathed a sigh of relief.

"I would give it to you if I could but I do not have that power," he said hoarsely, tension vibrating in his grip. She took his hand.

"All I need is your permission." Josef stared at her, deeper instincts protesting the idea of losing what had defined him for centuries. Then he saw Emma unconscious sin his arms with blood dripping from her neck. There were no choices.

"Take it."

Mick took another turn faster than was wise. If he was lucky he wouldn't get pulled over for speeding. Mona sat beside him, nervously chewing her lip. Andy was far less quiet about her impatience.

"Can't you drive any faster than that?"

"Are all witches back seat drivers or is it just you?" he snapped, glancing at her angry blue eyes in the rearview mirror.

"That depends. Do all vampires drive like they're senile?"

"Would you two please stop bickering?" Mona begged, stopping Mick from delivering another cutting reply. Andy brooded for a moment but the battle was clearly nowhere near ended. Mona was beginning to wonder if the two of them would kill each other. "Your friend Josef is in a great deal of danger, Mick. We're very anxious to keep him out of harm's way."

"I appreciate that," Mick said. Once he had told the sisters why he'd needed to make a sudden phone call and that his friend hadn't picked up, they'd pushed him into his car as fast as humanly possible. Now that someone close to Mick was in danger he was taking this all more seriously. Even if Mona and Andy were nuts, which he didn't really believe, Naomi might be just as crazy. Josef was most likely in trouble. "What exactly is she planning to do?"

"You said Josef was over four hundred years old. Naomi wants those years. She can take them from him and – Ah!" Mona gasped, eyes going wide. Andy was still. Both women were listening or feeling something Mick could not.

"What is it?" he asked, trying to keep an eye on the road and the witches. Mona whimpered softly, incapable of replying. She was more sensitive to things no common person could understand. Wars, famine, disease, everything struck her on a deeper level. The disturbance of the natural world hurt her soul. And what Naomi was doing violated every code they knew.

"Naomi's started," Andy said, her voice strained. It hit her, too, though not as keenly. "You need to drive faster." Mick did as she said but that didn't stop him from asking questions.

"You haven't told me exactly what she's going to do to Josef."

"If we get there in time then it won't matter what she's trying to do," Andy pointed out. She reached for her sister's hand and they held onto each other. Mona's blank eyes turned on Andy. Even though she could see nothing, her sister felt as if she was looking right at her.

"We won't be there in time. It's already happening."

"She is not going to beat us," Andy said, refusing to admit that Naomi already had. "Come on, Mick, your reflexes are enhanced. If you can't handle this car over 100 mph then maybe I should drive."

"Hold onto your broomstick," he muttered, concentrating on the road. He was speeding up to Josef's house. They'd be there in less than a minute and he still had no idea what they were going to do. Or if they were there in time to stop anything.

Andy didn't bother to open the door. She just jumped out of his convertible and darted up the path to Josef's house. The vibrations hadn't stopped. Naomi might still be there. Mona began to fumble with the door and Mick helped her out. He couldn't leave a blind woman to wander around in the street. Mick picked her up and ran. Mona couldn't see how quickly things were passing by but her stomach turned anyway.

"Dammit!" Andy shrieked and Mona knew they were too late. Mick set Mona on her own two feet, intent on reaching Josef's side. His friend was in a heap by the pool. Andy stood over him, checking for a pulse. "He's alive." She didn't sound happy about it but Mick was more concerned about what she'd said.

"Alive?" Then Mick noticed it. Body heat, no hint of decay. It was like… "He's _human_." Mona kneeled beside her sister and felt around for Josef's body.

"Andy, search around for the usual remains. We need the area cleared," she murmured, gently touching the former vampire's face.

"I think it's time you explained what's happened," Mick said quietly. Only the steady up and down movement of Josef's chest was keeping him calm. Mona nodded.

"First, we should move him." Andy waited until they'd carried Josef into the house then searched. It didn't take long. A black circle was scorched into the stone.

"Shit, shit, shit!" She sat down, shutting her eyes for a moment. Naomi was gone. She was gone and she had four hundred more years of time to torture, kill and manipulate anyone she wanted. Her mother had died for nothing. Her sister was going to be blind for the rest of her life. Tears stung the back of her eyes and she bit her lip. She needed to get up and go to work. The area was tainted with black magic. Andy cracked her knuckles and rolled her neck. "We can do this," she muttered. "Even if it's hopeless."

"He's all right," Mona said after inspecting Josef. They'd put him on the couch and so far he hadn't reacted to anything.

"How can he be all right? He started the day dead and now he's alive, apparently due to black magic or whatever you said it was," Mick said, pacing back and forth. Mona sighed.

"His body is health, that's one thing. She's gotten better at it over the years."

"Better at what?" he snapped, spinning to face her. Mona turned to face the direction his voice was coming from.

"Better at stealing the lifetimes a vampire has lived without leaving a crumpled mess of bone and flesh behind," she replied. Mick pinched the bridge of his nose. He thought he knew all about the strange side of this world. Now it was as if he was seeing it all for the first time.

"Explain this to me slowly and in great detail," he said, taking a seat. Mona smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry we haven't taken the time for this but there was no opportunity. I'll try to do as you ask." She cleared her throat. "Naomi was born in 1734. Whether her name actually is Naomi or not is up for debate. She was part of a family who had practiced magic for several generations. Unfortunately magic wasn't smiled on in that time and her father was hanged while her mother and older sister were burned alive. It was a miracle she escaped but she sought vengeance instead of giving in to the grief. Naomi used magic to punish the people who destroyed her family."

"Makes sense," Mick said, unwillingly sympathetic. Mona shook her head.

"Whether it made sense or not doesn't matter. She broke our law. We cannot harm others with our gifts. To do so is to violate the trust our god and goddess have put in us. On a rainy night she was raped and beaten by thieves who had broken into her house. It was what she had earned after torturing others with her power. We all are warned of the consequences. She ignored them."

"Sounds like you aren't entirely comfortable with what happened to her," Mick observed. Mona sighed deeply.

"I don't know what I might be provoked to do if I lost my sister. With any luck I would learn from Naomi's example and keep my temper under control. Besides, a blind witch isn't much threat." She shrugged. "Anyway, Naomi felt the punishment did not fit the crime. 'What thou sends out comes back to thee times three' ceased to hold meaning for her. She abused her gifts and sought revenge against her gods by hurting other witches. Then she began to age."

"And this is where vampires come into it." He leaned forward, his investigative mind thirsting for details.

"Yes, she knew of their existence and their immortality. However, she didn't want to deal with the weaknesses. Sunlight, silver, that kind of thing. She began to experiment. Eventually she developed a way to absorb immortality from another. It was dark magic, darker than anything she'd touched before. The first time she performed the act, the consequences nearly killed her. Since then she's learned how to escape justice for her acts. Loopholes, if you will."

"How did she manage to do that?"

"For one, she surrounds herself with white. It's for protection and purity so it helps keep back some of the minor forces trying to punish her but the real protection is tattooed all over her body in black ink. Symbols and spells and bargains with all kinds of black forces. Once we got close enough to get a good look at them all. Three people died for it." Mona went silent, the pain adding years to her face. Mick's gaze went to Josef.

"Will she be back?"

"No way." He glanced over his shoulder at Andy. Some of the energy had gone out of her and her breathing was labored. It looked as if she'd run a few miles in the desert. "Naomi wouldn't have any reason to stick around. She's got time on her hands and bigger prizes than us to go after." Andy collapsed on a nearby chair. "And we have no idea where to look next."

"We've failed," Mona whispered, defeat weighing heavy on her shoulders. Mick frowned.

"No, you haven't. I've just started on this case and I'm not stopping until we find this woman and bring her down." Andy met his eyes with scorn. At the determination in his gaze she paused, tilting her head to the side. After a moment she nodded. They could do this. Together.


	5. The Ambush

Chapter Four: The Ambush

"Josef!"

"Emma, it's a dream. Wake up!" Emma's head shot up, hands gripping the edge of her desk as she hyperventilated. The world was spinning and her heart was racing and she was pretty sure she was going to pass out. "Emma, I don't have any brown bags, you need to try to control your breathing on your own," Ellen told her, steadying her employer when she began to slide off the chair. From an outsiders perspective Ellen was considerably younger than Emma. In reality they were about the same age. It was just that Ellen had been a vampire for the last ten years so she didn't need to worry about signs of aging anymore.

Emma did her best to focus on Ellen's pale red hair and gray eyes, slowing down the rapid heaving of her chest. She gripped the skinnier, shorter woman's arm but tried to keep it gentle. Some days it looked like Ellen would snap in half if the wind were too strong.

"Sorry," she murmured once she had enough breath to speak.

"You don't have to apologize," Ellen protested. She glanced at the desk. Emma's sketchpad was open and the smeared image of a man hidden in shadows was apparently the last thing she'd been working on before she'd dozed off. Ellen bit back a sigh. She wasn't allowed to mention vampires or anything about the month before her accident that might remind her of all she'd once had. Those were Josef's orders. Personally, she was going insane having to hide her canister of blood and making excuses as to why she didn't eat solid food. Emma probably thought she was anorexic.

"I shouldn't have closed my eyes," Emma muttered, rubbing the heel of her hand against her right eye. "Brandon had to get to LAX early in the morning for his flight and I wanted to see him off. It shouldn't have made me so drowsy. It's not as if I sleep much anyway." She paused. How had she fallen asleep in the middle of the day? She barely slept at night and was irritatingly awake when the sun was up. This was the first time she'd been able to take a nap.

"You've been running yourself pretty hard. I guess your body just couldn't take it anymore," Ellen said, watching the emotions passing over Emma's face. Something was going on inside her friend's mind.

"You're probably right," she agreed absentmindedly. Her attention was fixed on her hand. Her steady hand. The hand that wasn't trembling. Emma curled and uncurled her fingers. "Strange."

"What is it?"

"Nothing," Emma said, sitting up quickly. No reason to wonder over a blessing. "I'll be fine."

"If you don't mind me asking, what were you dreaming about?" Ellen inquired. She definitely shouldn't be doing this. Emma had shouted Josef's name and if she didn't remember then that was all for the best. So why push it? Ellen knew why. She missed her best friend. She missed being honest.

"I don't remember," Emma replied automatically. She always said that anytime someone asked. Besides, she never did. This time she could, just barely, remember her name being whispered and the warmth of brown eyes. "Go on, don't worry about me." Ellen smiled weakly and did as she was told.

When she stepped into the stylish but spotless café she nearly had a heart attack. Not that it would matter, of course, since that wouldn't kill her but she was still recently dead and she hadn't gotten used to the new vocabulary. A petite blonde, though not nearly as skinny as Ellen, stood next to a tall private investigator and a human who looked exactly like Josef.

"Beth? Mick?" Ellen stared at Josef, unsure if she should jump to conclusions and just name him. After all, the Josef she knew was a four hundred year old vampire. This one was as human as any guy walking in the scorching blaze of the afternoon sun. "Josef?" she asked tentatively.

"Yes," he replied quietly. The shock on Ellen's face did very little to soothe the mixture of rage and sorrow boiling inside him. He'd been conned. Mona and Andy had explained it plainly enough. Love was not blind. It blinded, made people take foolish and stupid risks. The strength he was accustomed to, the heightened sensitivity to sound and smell, his excellent vision, all of it was gone. Most likely lost for the rest of his pitifully short life.

"But… aren't you supposed to be staying away? And how are you human? What…?" she broke off and sighed, drawing a circle in the air with her finger. "This is the loop." Ellen held her finger farther away from where she'd gestured. "This is me."

"It'll take some time to explain," Mick told her.

"Yeah, he hasn't even told me yet," Beth said, her sharp eyes cutting into him with a glare. They hadn't agreed about staying out of Emma's life. Beth hadn't spoken to him for a long time. Mick would be lucky if she agreed to see him after this. A woman never appreciated having one of her best friends stolen.

"Where's Emma?" Josef asked. Ellen gestured to the door at the back of the shop.

"She's getting some work done. But she still doesn't remember you," she pointed out when Josef made to walk by her. "Maybe the direct approach isn't your best shot."

"Ellen, I've made a devil's bargain to look into her eyes again. I'm not waiting for brilliant strategies." She bit her lip and nodded. This wasn't going to go well, she could feel it. Still, he had a point.

"Damn," Emma muttered, struggling to reach the piece of charcoal she'd dropped behind her desk. "My hands finally stop shaking and the first thing I do is drop my supplies every which way." Her door opened and Emma sighed. Ellen must be back to check on her. She couldn't blame the girl. After seeing Emma have some sort of attack she was probably wondering if her employer was going to drop dead. "I'm fine, Ellen, I just can't reach… Aha! Got it." She backed out from under the desk and banged her head against the edge. "Christ, as if my head doesn't ache enough on its own."

"Careful," a familiar voice murmured.

_"Careful with that," he said. One minute she was alone and the next she was caught in the dark eyes of a stranger. _Emma stood up and spun around to face him. From the bottom of his handmade Italian shoes to the top of his short brown hair, she knew him. She just wasn't sure how.

"Sorry, can I help you?" she asked, trying to stay calm while her heart pounded hard inside her chest. He beat her 5'9" by about three inches, his shoulders were broad, his hips slim and some part of her felt an intense familiarity with every detail.

"Yes, you can," he told her. It hurt, the distance in her voice and manner. But it was certainly better than not being with her at all. "We've met." She met his eyes and he didn't need his former power to see how it affected her. "Emma." Soft brown eyes, warm for her. She knew them.

"I don't remember," she whispered, backing up and nearly falling over a stool.

"You'll at least remember recently," Josef said as he looked pointedly at the wound on her neck. She covered it with a hand.

"Wait, you… You were there! You told me to lie about it being a vampire attack." He blinked. She shouldn't remember anything about vampires.

"A vampire attack?"

"I know it sounds nuts but the woman bit my neck and drank my blood. What else could she be?" Emma studied his face. There was one thing that didn't add up. Since she hadn't seen his face that night then how was it so familiar? "Mythical or non-Mythical creatures aside, did we meet before that?" Josef couldn't help the wry smile on his face.

"Several times," he told her. "We dated, too." Emma snorted, observing his silk shirt and crisp business suit.

"Very funny. You're not my type."

"Too rich, too arrogant and too dangerous was what you said before," Josef said. It was fascinating to watch the way different emotions transformed her face. He'd missed that. There were so many small things he'd missed. His eyes settled on her mouth. "Attraction won out."

"I know I've forgotten everything that happened before I was hospitalized," Emma said quietly, disconcerted by her sudden awareness that he was a man and she was a woman and they'd fit together rather well. She looked away, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. "But since I was dating someone else during that time I find it hard to believe I started dating you."

"That's what Brandon told you," Josef said, rage sharpening his eyes.

"How did you know his name?" she asked. Emma suddenly felt nervous being alone with this man. Ellen was right outside so she knew she was safe but at the same time she felt intensely vulnerable.

"I had some trouble with him during one of our rough patches," Josef replied. Trouble involved shoving the man against a wall and cutting off his air supply. He tried to control the anger that Brandon tended to raise in him. It was making Emma visibly nervous.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered, heading past him toward the door. "I woke up in the hospital and only Brandon was there. If we were ever together it obviously didn't mean much."

"It meant everything," he corrected, catching her arm before she could avoid him. "You loved me." Her eyes widened.

"We were together for about a month and we had rough patches and somehow I fell in love with you? I don't believe that for a minute."

"You used to have a more open mind. Not about me being right for you, certainly, but about other possibilities in general," Josef said as he pulled her closer. He could feel her pulse fluttering under his fingers. He just wished he could hear it. Her scent was much harder to catch now and only when she was close could he truly enjoy it. "How is it you believe in vampires but you don't believe in a whirlwind romance happening to you?"

"Did you love me?" she asked. Her body had swayed forward toward him even while her mind was rebelling. She had a boyfriend who was devoted to her. Not only a boyfriend, a fiancé. This guy had come out of nowhere. The things he was saying just didn't make sense and she wasn't going to believe him.

"Yes." Her breath caught in her throat. "I still do." Josef leaned down to kiss her and Emma panicked, jerking back and stumbling through the door. Her frustrated desires screamed in fury but her head was content at having escaped.

"Emma, are you all right?" She looked in the direction of the voice, seeing the BuzzWire reporter standing a few feet away.

"Beth Turner?" she asked, surprised. "You haven't been here in ages." Emma looked at the attractive man standing beside the blonde and frowned. "Do I know you?"

"Yes," Mick said in unison with Josef as he stepped out of her workroom. Emma glanced back at him.

"Let me guess. I dated him, too."

"No, Josef would have killed me," Mick said, shaking his head. "Not to mention Beth."

"Don't count on it," Beth muttered. He winced. Not all the fences were mended yet. "Emma, do you remember Josef at all?" Emma turned around to look at him and bit back a shriek. He was closer than she'd expected. An intense sense of déjà vu struck her. All of this was familiar. Especially his name.

"Beth," Josef said quietly. "You introduced us before. Care to do it again?" Beth nodded, eager to help.

"Emma, this is Josef Kostan. Josef, this is Emma Bradford." Emma swallowed hard.

"Okay," she said quietly. "Let's say, hypothetically, that I'm buying this for even a second. How do I know you're not trying to manipulate me? You could be working for my father for all I know."

"I wouldn't make that mistake again," he joked. Emma threw up her hands.

"None of this makes any sense."

"You just don't want it, too," Josef said. "You were always too stubborn for your own good."

"Emma," Ellen said, coming forward tentatively. "He's telling the truth." Emma paused. That changed things. If Ellen said it had happened then it probably had. The girl was truthful to a fault. Maybe Josef really had been with her. She recognized the annoyed expression on his face, the heat in his eyes. How? He made her feel off balance, out of rhythm. Why was that familiar? The confused thoughts continued to build up until Emma bit her lip and looked at Ellen again.

"I'm going to need that medication in about ten seconds." The girl moved in a blur. Emma's head began to throb painfully at the familiarity of the speed and she was thankful when Ellen stopped in front of her with pills and a glass of water. "Thanks," she whispered, gulping down the medication then pressing a hand to her aching head. "But how did you move that fast?"

"I'm a vampire," Ellen told her, clearly nervous about coming out. Emma's eyes widened.

"Sorry, did you just say you're a vampire?" Ellen nodded.

"You knew about it when you hired me. I'm sorry I didn't remind you when you forgot but I wasn't allowed to disturb any of your old memories."

"Why the hell not?" she snapped, glaring around at the group as a whole. Beth held up her hands.

"It wasn't my idea. I wanted to tell you everything but somebody made a stupid bargain that blew up in his face." She looked at Josef pointedly who merely glared at the reporter.

"That's it. Everyone just stop talking for a minute," Emma snapped, waving her arms frantically. Her head felt tender but she was too upset to pay it any heed. "Ellen's a vampire. Is anyone else surprised by this or is it just me?"

"We knew," Mick told her. "I happen to be a vampire, too." Emma looked at Beth who shook her head.

"All human." Josef shifted uncomfortably when her moss green eyes landed on him.

"My situation is a bit more complicated."

"Of course it is," Emma said, extremely embarrassed by the note of hysteria in her voice. "Nothing is simple anymore."

"Oh, you have no idea," a tall, blue-eyed woman said as she walked through the door with a shorter woman wearing sunglasses holding her arm. Emma frowned.

"Are you someone else I've supposedly forgotten?"

"No, we haven't met. I'm Andy Brodrick." She held out her hand and Emma shook it thankfully. She was just happy she'd never met this woman before. The experience of two people really meeting for the first time was rare today.

"I'm Mona, her sister," the other woman said with a calm smile. Andy looked at Mick.

"You-Know-Who decided to stick around town after all and I'm not talking about Voldemort." Mick's eyes widened. From what the witches had been saying he'd thought Naomi would have hit the road and they would be following her around the country.

"How do you know?"

"Wait, who's sticking around town?" Emma asked, her frown deepening. Andy completely ignored her. She wasn't trying to be rude but she had some important things to focus on.

"A kid's throat was slashed and he was missing a great deal of blood. She's started her experiments again."

"There's been a murder?" Beth asked, switching to reporter mode in an instant. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Is anyone going to answer my question?"

"Naomi's back," Mona told her quietly. Emma's heart nearly stopped.

"I'm sorry, what name was that again?" Everyone went quiet as they turned to look at Emma's suddenly pale face. Josef put a steady hand on her back but she didn't seem aware of it. "What was the name?"

"Naomi," Mick said, watching her face for a reaction. Her entire body had become unnaturally still. If he had been able to listen to her thoughts, he would have heard only three words.

_"Bad luck, Bradford."_ Her eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted into Josef's arms. No one knew what to say. Finally, Ellen broke the silence.

"I told you the direct approach wasn't a good idea."


	6. The Differing of Opinions

Chapter Five: The Differing of Opinions

Emma groaned softly as she tried to puzzle out why she wasn't vertical anymore. It probably had to do with the way her head was spinning. All signs pointed to fainting. She'd fainted for the second time that week, a personal record for her. At least the first time had been for a legitimate reason such as blood loss. What had it been this time?

_Naomi_.

Her skin went cold as she thought the name. It had stuck with her through pain and sleepless nights. That one name sent alarm bells ringing inside her head. And, like so many other things, she couldn't remember exactly why. Frustrated and a little bit terrified Emma opened her eyes to see where the mystery people from her forgotten past had put her.

Apparently they knew where Brandon's house was because that was definitely where she was. The entire house had a cabin-like feel to it, especially the bedroom someone had set her down in. Emma observed the little details she'd seen countless times. Polished wooden floor, the modest walk-in closet, the queen-sized bed and dark orange sheets she was lying on. It had never felt like home. Emma shook her head and hauled herself up. The last thing she needed was some dashing stranger interrupting the comfortable life she had with Brandon.

"Dashing stranger?" she asked herself, pausing on her journey toward the door. "I need to stop skimming Ellen's romance novels." She finally noticed the smooth, bluesy sound of Norah Jones drifting up from the living room and Emma went to investigate. To test her memory she tried to remember which photos on the walls had been taken by Brandon and which were done by fellow artists. After a few minutes she gave up. She wouldn't have remembered that before the accident anyway.

Norah was still singing about the nearness of someone when Emma peeked into the living room. There was Josef as large as life sitting on a brown leather sofa. He somehow made the room seem smaller, like he was filling up too much space. She rolled her eyes internally and stepped out into the open. When he didn't react Emma slowly approached then realized his eyes were closed. He was asleep. She took a few more cautious steps forward. Josef looked peaceful when he slept. Maybe she should just let him rest. She didn't know what all he'd gone through before walking into her workroom. However, she also had a few thousand questions to ask and they should get started sooner rather than later.

Ignoring the hormones telling her to crawl into his lap and wake him up the fun way, Emma reached over and gently shook his arm. "Josef?" she asked. "You alive in there?" He snagged her wrist and before she could even take a second breath her back was pressed against the couch and Josef was pinning her down. It had not been abnormally fast but it sure as hell hadn't been slow. He stared down at her face, blinking away the remnants of sleep.

"Oh, it's you," he murmured as he smiled apologetically. "I tend to get a little paranoid when I'm unconscious." And when he was conscious as well.

"Ah," was the only semi-coherent sound she could make. A slow fire was building up inside her stomach, licks of flame traveling across the rest of her body. The most disturbing part was that this did not feel like a new attraction to a new man. This felt normal, even expected.

The fatigue clinging to Josef vanished in a blink when he noticed just how close Emma was pressed against his body. His knee was wedged between her jean-clad legs, jeans he had missed a great deal though not as much as the legs. The breasts that fit perfectly in his hands were crushed to his chest and he could tell she was far from unaffected by their position. This might be a good time to remind her of a few things.

"Emma," he murmured, dipping his head to suck gently at her earlobe. She nearly choked on the breath she'd just taken. This warmth, this intensity, was not new. Emma clung to his shirt, twisting her fingers in the material to get a better hold. Lips and teeth skimmed against her throat and she whimpered. The way Josef moved was confident and unhesitating, a lover pleasuring the woman he'd had more than once. He knew how to touch her, where to put his hands and exactly how hard it all should be.

"Josef," she gasped as his hands moved under her old, paint-stained shirt. She arched her back while her own hands unbuttoned his shirt. His chest was gorgeous, lusciously defined and mouth-watering. And familiar. Emma stroked his pale skin. He brushed his lips over her cheek then pressed a teasing kiss to the edge of her mouth. She turned to kiss him fully but he pulled back. "Josef."

"Ask me."

_"Bite me, Josef. Please."_ Emma jerked backwards, rapidly putting space between them. Josef didn't fight her. He could sense that she was remembering tiny pieces of their life and that was worth more than taking her on Brandon's couch. Although that plan did have a lot of appeal. "Remember something?" he asked lightly.

"Are you a vampire?" she demanded. Emma was proud of how steady her voice was considering how her heart was fluttering. She also had tremendous dignity for a woman whose bra was unsnapped and was feeling some very uncomfortable tingling.

"I was," he told her. "Unfortunately I was tricked into giving it up for the chance to be with you again."

"Could you please not look like that?" Emma implored. Josef raised a brow in question.

"Look like what?"

"When you talk about me you get this look on your face that's really… It's disconcerting," she mumbled, looking away and feeling stupid.

"It's called love," Josef pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I'm already in love with someone else so tough break," Emma said, regretting her rather insensitive tone. The way he looked at her was just too personal. It was like he knew every detail of her body and could recite it from memory. Josef's eyes hardened.

"You mean Brandon, I assume. I'll have to correct you there, Emma." He stood up and crossed to her, ignoring it when she backed away to avoid his touch. "You're trying to be in love with him."

"Love isn't easy," she protested. Josef stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. Emma couldn't deny that Josef knew how to set every nerve in her body on fire. Her reaction to his touch was too extreme. Maybe at some point they had been lovers although she couldn't make sense of that. They were so different. He'd said that Beth had introduced them but what on earth for?

"It's especially difficult when you're in love with someone else," Josef observed quietly. Her eyes sharpened and she pushed him back.

"I don't love you. I can barely remember you," she snapped.

"So you do remember me a little?" Emma felt like slapping herself for letting that slip. The hope in his eyes was almost painful.

"Maybe a little," she admitted reluctantly. "That still doesn't make you the love of my life." Josef didn't seem to be listening. He was still gloating over the fact that she'd confessed to remembering him.

"This is going to take time," he murmured. "A month, maybe two. You'll remember the rest."

"You don't have that kind of time. I'm getting married in three weeks." Emma turned away from him and fled to the kitchen. It was a cowardly way to deliver the news but she didn't owe him anything. He hadn't even been there when she'd been comatose. Not that it mattered to her, of course. She hardly knew the man. It wasn't as if it hurt some tender, throbbing place in her heart.

Emma glanced at the refrigerator, wondering if maybe she could pretend it was five o'clock and have a glass of wine. It would be a good distraction. While she fished a wine opener out of a drawer, she listened for any kind of reaction from Josef. So far it had been eerily silent. That couldn't last for long. Eventually it would sink in and –

"You are not marrying him," Josef growled, stalking through the doorway like the creature of the night he'd once been. Emma's eyes narrowed at the challenge and she set down the wine opener.

"We already booked a church so yeah, I am marrying him."

"Did he forget to give you a ring yet?" Josef snapped, eyeing her left hand pointedly. She blushed as she realized she'd misplaced her engagement ring yet again. It was going to take ages to locate. She'd been wearing the thing this morning so she'd probably taken it off at Clay Café.

"I took it off to work," she lied, her tone edgy. The truth was she hated wearing jewelry. It was uncomfortable and rings made her hands feel heavy. What Brandon had given her also carried the extra weight of a future life together so she felt guilty about wanting it off her finger as often as possible.

"I can tell when you lie, Emma. You get angry about needing to because someone's gotten too close to the truth." She backed up as he approached her, pinning her easily against the kitchen counter. He'd been right, of course. She was beginning to see he was right about a lot of things. "You can't marry him." Except that.

"Watch me," she replied tightly, pressing her body against the counter to give herself as much room as possible. Josef was too close for comfort. "I care about Brandon. A lot. He's always been there for me unlike someone else in the room." Anger and a little sadness burned in his eyes.

"I was there, Emma. I was always there. You just couldn't know." That defensive anger went right out of her. No matter how crazy it was, Josef claimed to love her. It must be painful to see that love go unreturned. Emma liked to play tough but she had a pathetic marshmallow heart. She sympathized with the sadness in his voice, the emptiness.

She'd felt that emptiness, too.

"Can you tell me about it?" she asked softly. Josef took in her change of mood from angry to gentle and relaxed. Fighting with Emma had never been easy and they usually ended up ripping each other's clothes off. He could tell she wasn't ready for that as much as it galled him.

"I'd be happy to," Josef told her, lifting her hand and brushing a soft kiss against her palm. Emma shivered.

"You've done that before."

"A few hundred times," he agreed, staring into her eyes. "Dizzy and disoriented, correct?" She looked away from him.

"It would be nice if you stopped knowing everything about me."

"You'll have your revenge once your memories come back," Josef assured her. Although he believed that once she remembered him they would be spending too much time clinging to each other for her to hatch any immediate plans for vengeance.

"Don't count on it," Emma warned. "I haven't remembered anything for six months. It doesn't look good."

"I disagree," Josef said as he stroked the tender skin between her fingers. "I'd say it looks very good indeed." She rolled her eyes and pulled her hand away. Her heart was doing that annoying fluttering thing again. Brandon never wound her up so tight that her nerves went haywire, thank goodness. He was tender and sweet and mellow.

Mellow… That was on her list of good things? She ignored the aggravated voice of what she assumed to be her hormones and picked up the corkscrew.

"I'm going to pour myself a glass of wine and then we're going to talk about why you stayed out of my sight for so long." Emma headed to the fridge and Josef glanced at the clock.

"It's a little after one," he pointed out. She glared at him over her shoulder.

"A woman in my position deserves a drink." While most women would be sending God gift baskets to thank Him for putting an attractive man on their doorstep passionately declaring his love, she needed copious amounts of liquor. She really did have brain damage.


	7. The Multiplication of Problems

Chapter Six: The Multiplication of Problems

It never ceased to amaze Andy how quickly people flocked to a murder. First paramedics roared in to see if there was any chance of saving space at the morgue. Then the police came on the scene with their yellow tape, photographers and stern expressions. Around that time the press would make their appearance with recording devices and prying eyes. Andy and her sister fit into the category of spectators although their interest in the murder was far from idle.

Beth was talking to a black man in a neat suit with tired eyes. He was probably a cop. She'd called her cameraman and was technically covering the story. At the same time she was fishing for information. Andy appreciated the effort from a woman who was virtually a stranger. Then again, Beth was more likely to be helping her friends.

Emmaline Bradford lived under the shadow of dark magic. Andy could feel the power scratching against her skin when she'd met the woman. Her memories were skillfully locked away and somehow the spell was being reinforced on a regular basis. She doubted that Naomi visited Josef's sweetheart so the witch was doing it some other way. Naomi always had been clever.

"This isn't normal," Mona said quietly from her place on the sidewalk, eyes staring blindly towards where the body had been dumped. Andy nodded.

"I was thinking that. Naomi doesn't usually leave her sacrificial lambs in plain sight." No, when Mona was struck with the knowledge of Naomi's occasional killing sprees they never found the bodies. This was like a taunt.

Andy stared up at the cloudless sky and contemplated taking off her jacket. It was too warm for it but she'd stupidly put on a sleeveless t-shirt. The tattoo on her upper right arm would definitely be recognized and connected to the murder six months ago. Besides, she wasn't nearly as heat sensitive as Mick was and he was handling it rather well as he circled the scene of the crime. Of course none of the cops wanted a P.I. around. Luckily he didn't need to be close to use his fantastic observation skills.

"It's been a long day," Mona noted thoughtfully. "Hiring a private detective, almost catching Naomi, making a woman faint and now investigating a murder. I shudder to think what we'll be doing tomorrow."

"If we even live through the day," Andy pointed out. Personally she thought the chances of survival were becoming slimmer all the time. Naomi had stayed in Los Angeles. That meant she didn't care that Andy and Mona were still looking for her. And that meant no good thing for the sisters. Mona tilted her head in Andy's direction.

"You really have to stop being so optimistic." She succeeded in making her sister laugh which was her only real goal at the moment. Mona knew just as well as Andy did that they were in a bad situation, getting worse all the time. A blind witch didn't have a great shot at surviving. Still, the last thing they needed to do was succumb to desperation and fear. That wouldn't help solve anything.

"It looks like Mick has finished sniffing around," Andy said, watching the vampire approach them. She wondered if he knew how conspicuous he was in a shirt that clung to his skin, leaving little to the imagination of many drooling women, and a thigh-length black jacket. Honestly, who wore a jacket like that when it was over eighty degrees out? Andy glanced at her denim jacket and cringed. It wasn't smart to throw stones and take shelter in a glass house.

"Try not to irritate him," Mona told her sister as she stood up and shook out the wrinkles in her dress. It was habit rather than necessity. After all, it wasn't like she could see the wrinkles. Andy smiled.

"Would I do that to the poor guy?" Before Mona could reply, Mick reached her side.

"Have you two been able to come up with anything else on the magic front?" Andy raised a brow.

"'Fraid not. Didn't your vamp senses start tingling?" Mona let out a gusty sigh, her hope for Andy's good behavior going out with it.

"Whoever put the body here wasn't Naomi." Mick was pleased by the way Andy's eyes widened. Usually he was an agreeable guy, not looking to deliberately annoying anyone. Andy just had one of those combative personalities. She poked at him and he poked back. Childish, yes, but extremely satisfying.

"She's not working alone," Mona realized. The color in her face drained until she looked ashen. "Holy Hecate, Naomi has followers." Mick raised a brow.

"Followers?"

"Could you sense anything else?" Andy asked quickly. She didn't look much better than her sister. For the first time he saw the worry lines between her eyebrows and wondered if she was older than he'd thought or just older on the inside.

"It was a man. Well, more like a boy. The raging hormones of a teenager tend to stick out." Mona groaned softly and turned away.

"What's the story?" Mick asked them, glancing from one horrified face to the other.

"She did something like this a hundred years ago. Naomi can be very appealing, especially to confused teenagers. She convinced a few of the young men she'd taken as lovers that the coven coming to punish her was filled with corrupted souls who chased her for no reason. Of course they rushed to her defense as she slipped out the back door, so to speak," Mona explained quietly. "The outcome was not a pretty sight."

"This doesn't look like the same thing but it's close enough to be a problem," Andy said, obviously disturbed. Chasing and destroying a witch who'd killed members of her family wasn't so bad. Battling teenaged boys who only wanted to belong somewhere made her feel uncomfortable.

"Perfect," Mick said, the sarcasm in his voice far from light. He glanced at the sky and Andy could see his eyes narrow behind his sunglasses. They should probably get him out of there before they had to mop him off the sidewalk.

"We aren't going to find anything else here." She turned and began to walk back to Mick's classic convertible. Despite her feelings for the man, she really fancied his car. Gorgeous and smooth, obviously it was looked after on a constant basis. That said Mick St. John was committed. The sisters needed that from anyone planning to get involved in their messy lives.

"We should wait for Beth," Mona pointed out before they got more than three steps away. Mick winced. He should have thought of that. In his defense, it had been months since Beth would tolerate his presence. If he was honest with himself he'd admit that his decision to support Josef and keep out of Emma's life hadn't been the only thing that had put a wedge between them. Beth wanted him to accept what he was and to involve her in the half of his life he hated. He couldn't do that.

"Right," Andy mumbled, glancing back at the blonde reporter talking to the camera. She didn't have the least idea how long it took to cover a story. Hopefully not for more than thirty minutes. They had work to do.

There was a moment of perfect silence before all hell broke loose. Andy noticed Mick's unnatural stillness, the way his head tilted as he inhaled the air. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. Mona knew what was wrong before the rest of them.

"Duck!" she shouted, flattening herself against the concrete. Andy obeyed on instinct. Mick, however, instinctively faced the danger heading right at him. Gunshots vibrated through the air, conquering all other noises for a fraction of a second. Then impact. Mick jerked like a puppet on a string.

Shouting erupted from the murder scene not ten yards away. Andy searched the area as two more shots were fired. When Mick crumpled to the ground, she noticed the boy standing up on the roof of the convenience store right beside them. It was close enough for her to make out his face. Young, pimply but with a confidence only knowing someone with power could bring. He also had good aim.

The boy hurled something small and bright straight at her sister. Andy had enough time to recognize a magically charged crystal before she threw herself in its path. If it had hit an unprotected human, the damage would have been much more severe. As it was Andy's teeth rattled from the impact and the force of it slammed her into a nearby car. She could feel the burn of the pentagram on her arm, its magic awakened by the attack.

It had happened so quickly Andy wasn't able to make sense of it. All of this was so non-lethal. What was Naomi thinking? She knew better than to attack with such pitiful tools. Then came the flood of policemen, reporters, paramedics.

This wasn't an assassination. This was exposure.

"We have to go now," she hissed to her sister, pulling her up and trying to do the same with Mick. However, she'd underestimated how badly he'd been wounded. He hadn't healed. Naomi had a kid shoot their vampire investigator with silver. "Shit." Badly wounded, he couldn't keep his fangs from extending and his eyes bleeding to white.

"Sir, are you all right?" Her panic level flew up several more levels when a paramedic came to lend a hand. Unsure what to do, Andy did the only thing she could think of to distract him from Mick's obviously immortal condition. She punched him in the face.

Mona clumsily helped Mick to his feet and, blind leading the injured, tried to pull him in the direction she could remember the car being in. Andy followed after them quickly, muttering enchantments under her breath. Cameras cracked, film was somehow exposed to direct sunlight. She covered their tracks as best she could then jumped into the driver seat of Mick's car.

"Keys!" she demanded. Mona shoved the keys toward her sister's voice after fishing them out of the depths of Mick's coat.

"Wait a second," Mick rasped. "How long have you been driving?" Andy rolled her eyes as she turned the key in the ignition.

"I swear to the elements, you're completely impossible," she muttered, flooring the accelerator and taking off down the road. Meanwhile, Mona did her best to staunch the flow of blood from Mick's chest. Then she frowned.

"Is something burning?" Andy finally noticed the faint hint of smoke in the air over the adrenaline roaring in her ears. It was her jacket.

"Shit!" she hissed, desperately shrugging out of it. The car swerved and nearly mowed down a parking meter. Mick groaned as his injured body was jarred by the sudden movements.

"Where the hell did you learn to drive? Mr. Toad's Wild Ride?"

"Would you shut up?" she snapped, tossing her jacket out into the street and speeding away from the angry honks. Her tattoo had continued to burn even when the threat had passed. She was just lucky it hadn't happened while cops and reporters had surrounded her. That would have been freaking brilliant. And Naomi would have been thrilled.

It was a blessedly short ride although hauling Mick into the elevator and to his front door hadn't been fun. Andy could see the sympathy pains beginning to wrack her sister's body. Mona always had been sensitive. Once they'd gotten the vampire into his apartment she'd put Mick in a chair near the kitchen and her sister on his couch.

"I should be helping," she protested, batting away Andy's hands.

"No, you should be resisting the urge to sympathize with him fully and take on his wounds. You wouldn't survive them." Mona couldn't think up an argument before Andy hurried into the kitchen. "Okay, Mick, do you have any prongs or something to get those bullets out of you?"

"Bottom drawer," he hissed out. "Although some blood first would be nice."

"Oh, right, that would be smart," Andy muttered to herself. Where did he keep the blood again? Mona had said something about it being hidden behind glasses. She spotted the metallic-looking wall behind a shelf with a line of ornate glasses and smirked. Bingo. Andy felt around for the opening and managed to slide his hidden refrigerator open. There were a few empty vials and a bottle with what looked like a mouthful of blood left. Oh, of course. Like any man he'd let his supplies get too low. "You're out," she told him, going for the bullet tongs instead.

Mick cursed louder than he'd intended. He'd been meaning to go to the morgue today but then there'd been a knock at his door. Too much happened after that for him to remember something as basic as food. He watched Andy's brisk, efficient movements as she gathered what she required from his kitchen. Mick frowned at the scissors she carried towards him.

"What are those for?"

"I don't want to move you anymore than I have to and that shirt is ruined anyway." Before he could protest she cut open his shirt. Andy didn't even blink at the bloody mess that made up Mick's chest. Instead she picked up the tool she needed to dig the bullets out and found the first hole. He snarled, the sound of a wounded animal in pain. It hurt his pride. He was a monster and he couldn't hide that fact from everyone. His fangs extended, his eyes pale with hunger, he knew Andy must have been fighting back repulsion. Even Beth had a great deal of trouble dealing with him in vamp mode. "This is definitely going to hurt," she warned when she clamped down on the bullet and slowly began to drag it out of his chest.

"Damn it!" The arm of the chair snapped under the pressure of his hand and he nearly tumbled out of it. Luckily Andy had gotten the bullet out so she could balance him.

"Careful, Mick. We don't want to lose you this early in the game," she teased lightly. He stared up at her in disbelief. His face was that of a monster, she was pulling silver bullets out of his chest and somehow she managed to tease him. What kind of woman was she?

"Couldn't you wave a wand and do this?" he asked, leaning back into the chair. Andy, for once, didn't act insulted. She knew he needed to talk to distract himself from the pain.

"Wand waving is only good for directing energy. Right now you need the bullets out, not someone channeling power in front of you." Andy managed to grip another bullet. This one slid out easier than the other.

"How old are you, anyway?" Andy quirked a brow at the sudden change of subject.

"Twenty-four," she replied, concentrating on getting that last bullet out. "How about you?"

"Eighty-five," he bit out, gritting his teeth as she worked the silver out of his chest. The minute it was gone he felt better, more relaxed. Then the severe blood loss hit him and all he felt was hungry. Starving. His eyes fixed on the steady pulse in the Andy's wrist.

"Looking good for your age," she complimented, adding the silver bullets she'd removed to the jar of normal bullets she'd found in his kitchen. Obviously he'd been shot quite a few times. Then she noticed where his eyes had drifted. _Oh, dear_. Andy bit her lip.

She didn't want to be a snack. She really, truly didn't.

At the same time, how could she deny her blood when people who were her enemies and not his had shot him? Well, they were his enemies now but that was only because they'd been hers first and she'd let them to him. "You need to feed," Andy said, her tone resolved. She'd nearly smashed his car into tiny metal pieces. He deserved a little of her blood.

"Yes," Mick agreed before he really understood what she was talking about. When she thrust her wrist in his face he nearly flipped the chair over in his desire to get away. "No!"

"I know it hasn't been bagged then poured into a glass but it's just as good," Andy said, a little insulted as to how vehemently he'd denied her offering. For Goddess's sake, he was starving and even so he didn't want her blood. What a snob!

"I don't feed from humans," he growled unintentionally. Mick couldn't control his voice or his need. If she came another step towards him then twenty-two years of control were going to snap like brittle twigs.

"Pretend I'm the Wicked Witch of the West. You'll feel better." When he didn't respond or move, Andy marched up and prodded one of the still un-healed bullet wounds. She knew it would hurt. That was precisely the point. Mick snarled, gripping her wrists and slamming her into the nearby bookshelf. Andy grunted but didn't struggle. She expected him to bit into her wrist. Instead he sank his fangs into her neck and drank.

"Andy, what's happening?" her sister asked, her tone slightly panicked.

"Nothing, everything's fine," Andy somehow managed to respond with a steady voice. Pressed against the rock-hard muscles of Mick's chest, her pulse raced which pumped the blood faster and gave him more to drink. She'd been all right with the idea of feeding him from her wrist. That was fairly impersonal, less intimate. His mouth on her throat was not at all impersonal.

Andy gripped his arm, wishing she could make her vocal chords work again. She needed him to stop. Her body didn't want him to. She wanted him to bleed her dry then feed her his blood. A new life, a new start. Things she couldn't ever have.

Her body also wanted darker, more wicked things but she put a stranglehold on those thoughts. She'd seen Beth Turner and she'd seen the way Mick looked at her. There was no place for Andy in this vampire's world even if she'd been remotely inclined to seek one. And she wasn't.

"Mick, I'm going to need some of that blood, too," she whispered hoarsely. He immediately let go, drawing away. Andy felt a pang of abandonment. Almost loss. "Feel better?" she asked, covering her marked neck with a shaky hand. He nodded. His eyes were normal again although dark with thought.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, fine," she muttered. "You should restock on blood. Oh, and calling Josef to let him know about this mess would be a good idea." Mick nodded and the two of them went back to work. Mick temporarily buried his guilt while Andy smothered any complicated feelings.

They did not need any more problems.


	8. The Connection

Chapter Seven: The Connection

Josef's cell phone had rung, interrupting what Emma knew would be an interesting story of the month she couldn't remember. He had added to one of the many thousand possibilities she had thought up during the half-year of no memory at all. She hadn't ever imagined vampires. Maybe she lacked a certain creativity.

In any case, she'd left Josef to his conversation and made her way up the stairs. All the talk about creatures of the night and magic had tugged at her memory. A client she once had, Nora Moon, talked about magic whenever Emma taught her the trying art of pottery. They hadn't been close but they'd been friendly. When Nora moved she mailed a book to Emma as a kind of parting gift that she had always considered a practical joke.

Emma pulled a cardboard box out of the closet she shared with Brandon. It was brimming with mementos that had survived the fire in her house because they dwelled at the café. She'd moved them to Brandon's house because she wanted a piece of her there that felt real. So much of what she had now was after the car wreck, the memory loss. Emma needed something with her that dated to before that. Something she could remember.

In her box she kept pieces of each client that had meant something to her. There weren't a lot of them because she'd really only been an occasional instructor for about four years. Still, there had been enough people she wanted to remember for a box dedicated just to them. There were a few shards of pottery with initials written on them, indicating whose disaster had been whose. She shifted through the photographs of the people with pots that had actually looked like pots, their faces beaming. Tiny things like finally getting a pot just right could bring a surprising amount of joy. It was like a child who had just learned to tie their shoelaces correctly. Satisfaction was priceless.

At last she unearthed a slim, light red volume with the charming title _The Good Spell Book. _Emma felt a little guilty about not reading it. She'd simply put it in her box of memories then forgotten about its existence. Well, better late than never. While she still wasn't sure why she thought Naomi was a witch, or was at least involved in witchcraft, it wouldn't hurt her to look up a few good spells. Besides, she knew that Mona and Andy were probably witches though no one had told her. The pentagram stud earring that Andy wore was a dead giveaway, no matter how small or unnoticeable.

She flipped through the book. Love spells, healing, protection. Protection was something she could use. Although she meant to pass by the love section of the book, curiosity got the better of her. Emma realized this wasn't just a collection of spells. Every few pages there would be some interesting fact about different magic-practicing cultures and old traditions. A particular quote caught her eye. _"If you change the name but not the letter, you marry for worse and not for better."_ Emma frowned.

Her mother's last name had been Butera, which she changed to Bradford after she married Emma's father. The name changed but not the letter. She wondered for a moment if things would have been different for Marina Bradford if she had not been a staunch Catholic, if she had poked her nose into New Age beliefs and stumbled on this quote. Maybe she wouldn't have married Michael Bradford. Maybe she wouldn't have killed herself so many years later.

Maybe.

Emma pushed her long braid over her shoulder, shaking herself out of whatever reverie she'd fallen into. It was strange. She hadn't thought about her mother, her father or her past in a very long time. She'd had so many other problems there hadn't been an opportunity to dwell on the past. And… and somehow the wound was healed. Something had made her past bearable. When had that happened? How had she not noticed?

She sighed. Yet another thing to chalk up to the month she couldn't remember. Emma snapped the book closed. She felt stupid now for trying to find answers in places there couldn't possibly be any. A tiny smirk curled her lips. At least she knew she wasn't marrying for worse. She would be Emma Keats. E.K.

Emma Kostan.

"What are you doing up here?" She jerked, staring up at Josef in the doorway. She hadn't heard him approach over the wild pounding of her heart. An engaged woman shouldn't be trying on other men's last names. What was wrong with her?

"Just passing the time," Emma lied, shoving the book behind her. "How did that call go?" Josef shifted his weight from one foot to the other and rolled his shoulders. He was uncomfortable and a little nervous. That probably meant he'd made a decision that involved her future without asking. And how did she even know that in the first place?

"It was Mick. Apparently there's been something of an accident and…" Josef trailed off, eyes fixing on the balcony doors. Emma frowned as she looked from him to what he was staring at.

"Earth to Josef," she said, even standing up to wave a hand in front of his face.

"I didn't notice before," he murmured. "That's the balcony you stand on when you can't sleep." Her eyes widened.

"How did you know about that?"

"I needed to see you." Josef looked at her with eyes that were soft with pain and love. "For my own sanity, I needed to see you." Emma thought about her shaking hands, the insomnia. All of which had stopped when Josef walked back into her life.

"Did I need to see you?" she asked quietly, uncertain if she wanted to hear the answer. He reached out to touch the bandage on her neck.

"I took blood from you, melded my life to yours." The invisible magnet just beneath her skin came alive, pulling her closer to Josef. An unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Something had to give. Ignoring the resistance in her head, she rested her forehead on his shoulder. "I had hoped," he murmured against her hair, pressing a hand carefully against her lower back, "that you would sense how near I was and go unaffected by the separation. Apparently I wasn't doing enough."

"If it was because of you," Emma whispered, uncertain of her voice. "I'm not sure I believe that but if it was because of you then I'm going to be very angry. It was maddening, not being able to trust my own hands."

"I'll let you punish me for the rest of my life if you agree to share that life with me." That was Josef, always willing to make a deal. The thought was more fond than sarcastic and Emma pulled away from his arms.

"You were going to tell me something before you got distracted by my balcony," she reminded him. After a silent moment he accepted the change of subject. It had taken time to win her in the first place. He would have to take time to win her back.

"Mick and his witches attracted a lot of attention when they were attacked by some boy shooting silver bullets at Mick. There will be an investigation into why Mick is still alive and why he fled the scene. They're coming over to discuss how it should be handled." Emma's jaw dropped.

"So you're potentially dragging me into a police investigation?" She smacked his arm and he winced, embarrassed by the fact that she could inflict any physical damage. Emotional he was used to but physical was something else entirely. His arm was fine. His pride was not.

"You won't be under investigation. That much I can promise you," Josef said, crossing his arms as Emma glared up at him. She snorted at his promise.

"There's no way you're that powerful." He arched a brow and Emma was forced to reconsider her position. Was it really possible that she'd fallen for some guy who had more money than Bill Gates and considerably more influence? That definitely stretched the limits of reality. "Fine, okay, have your meeting but I'm calling Ellen. I want a recognizable face in this house."

"Beth will be there," he told her, trying to control that instinctive need to poke fun at her. She needed to be soothed, not aggravated.

"I don't know Beth that well. Or, at least, I don't remember knowing Beth that well." Emma pressed a hand to her head and left the room with a frustrated growl. She could just imagine a conversation with Brandon about all this. _Oh, I'm glad you enjoyed Belgium, honey. By the way, while you were gone I let a random former vampire grind me into your couch and harbored fugitives from justice. Fun, huh?_ She only hoped she could make it through the rest of the day without having to take yet another pill. They left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was a small price to pay for pain relief but she still found it repulsive.

The knock on the door came sooner than she expected. Emma hoped futilely that it would be Ellen but that would be tough unless the younger woman had somehow flown across town. Could vampires fly? She added that to her growing list of questions as she opened the door. Beth smiled at her.

"Hey, Emma. You're looking a lot better."

"Most people look better when they're not in a dead faint," Emma pointed out, stepping back to let the reporter through. She supposed it was perfectly understandable for the two of them to be friends. Beth was a good person, smart and driven to success. "I'm sorry I don't remember you the way you remember me." Emma noticed the brief faltering of Beth's footsteps before she collecting herself against and managed a smile.

"It's not your fault. Besides, I managed all right." It was a lie. Working through what had happened with Mick without Emma's help had not been all right. She'd needed someone to talk to who would understand her problems. Josef had been grieving and Mick was obviously off the list since he had caused the issue in the first place. Beth had been in desperate need of her friend. For that, too, she was having a hard time forgiving Mick.

"No one's really told me what happened today? Do you know?" Emma asked her. Beth nodded, embracing the topic and filling Emma in as they walked into the living room. Josef felt himself grin at the sight of them. Even if they were talking about mayhem and bloodshed, the fact that they were talking at all set another thing steady in his off kilter world.

"So the cops are looking for Mick and it'll only be a matter of time until they go to his apartment."

"Christ, this has to be awkward for you," Emma observed. "I mean, you're a reporter. You should be reporting this but you have to try to cover it up instead."

"It's more like giving people a more acceptable version of the truth," Beth said. At least, that was how she justified it to herself. "Most of the film was wrecked anyway so the proof has vanished." When another knock sounded on the door Josef went to answer it. Emma couldn't pick out Ellen's voice from the ones currently speaking so she resigned herself to waiting for a more familiar face. Unfortunately, when Andy walked into the living room, she was faced with one.

The bandage on her neck, the storm of frustrated thoughts and feelings brewing in her eyes, even the set of her shoulders… She knew it. Emma was intimately familiar with each flicker of emotion. Some great ocean of feeling welling up inside a heart that didn't know if it could survive the fall into something so unknown that it made her skin hot and cold at the same time. At some point during the day, Andy's face had become what Emma's had been. What Emma could only remember in shadows and vague images.

She let her head fall into her hands, closing her mouth against a quiet moan. Looked like she would need that medication after all.


	9. The Strategy

Chapter Eight: The Strategy

Mona Brodrick saw more than people thought she did. Not with her eyes, of course. She'd always been better with her other senses. Mona wouldn't thank Naomi for robbing her of her vision but she was always not completely crippled. Her awareness of the emotions of people around her sharpened, as did her sensitivity to even tiny changes in the environment. So she knew that her sister was more confused than she was letting on and that Beth was more furious than she would act in front of the whole group.

"How is it you can't stand to drink from me but drinking from a perfect stranger doesn't make any difference at all?" Beth hissed quietly. She'd dragged Mick into the kitchen once she'd seen Andy's neck. Now she was spitting mad but trying to keep quiet about it. After all, there really should only be one major crisis at a time. So far they had two. Three was overdoing it.

"It was an emergency," Mick tried to explain quietly, more embarrassed than he wanted to admit. Biting Andy hadn't just been about food. The vampire in him wanted to put her in her place. She'd been teasing and poking at him since the moment they met. His inner monster was satisfied while the man in him was horrified. "I didn't have a lot of options when I was filled with silver and bleeding to death."

"Of course, it always has to be an emergency. Josef bit Emma all the time and I didn't see her recoiling in horror."

Emma paused outside the kitchen doorway. Since Ellen had gotten there she had meant to pull Mick and Beth out to join the impromptu meeting. However, that little tidbit about her past made her hesitate. Josef had bitten her. Frequently. And she'd been okay with it?

"Give them another minute," Ellen whispered softly, pulling at her friend's elbow. "They've got some things to work through." Emma let herself be dragged away.

"What is the problem between the two of them, exactly?" she asked, trying not to seem too nosy.

"Mick's sensitive about sharing his vampire nature with Beth and Beth doesn't want to be in a relationship with someone who isn't willing to trust all of himself with her," Ellen told her. She smiled weakly. "Since you forgot everything Beth's been talking to me a little but it's not really the same since I'm not in a relationship and I'm a young vampire. I don't understand that part of myself entirely just yet."

"Most people don't even understand themselves as humans for fifty years," Emma murmured. "Sounds reasonable that it would take longer to adapt to being a vampire." She glanced at Andy, a woman she didn't know but felt a strange connection to for no apparent reason. Their styles were similar. Jeans, casual shirts and no particular shape to her hair. Aside from that they were very different people. Andy was taller, her mouth was wider, her hair was shorter. They were both pale but that was the only physical resemblance they shared.

Andy glanced at Emma. She wondered, not for the first time, how a perfectly average woman had gotten mixed up in a world of vampires and magic. There was probably an interesting story behind her involvement with Josef. Too bad she couldn't remember it. She shifted uncomfortably on the couch, the bite she'd hastily bandaged stinging a little. Honestly, she didn't know how to feel about being vampire chow. Andy didn't regret it but she wondered what it would mean in the long run. Blood was never casual. Never could be, no matter how some people looked at it. And Mick was a little too interesting for his own good.

"Any feelings of nausea?" Mona asked Josef, checking his pulse for the second time that day. She felt nervous about his condition. So far there were no problems but experience taught her not to hope for the best.

"I told you before that I felt all right. Nothing's changed," Josef told her. She could hear the impatience in his voice. He didn't like being monitored like an invalid. The less obvious emotion was uncertainty. It had been a long time since he'd been human. There were so many things he needed to learn how to do all over again.

"Let me know if anything does change. If it does, you'll need our help." Mona let go of his wrist. Josef studied her face, lined with worries and concern. It occurred to him that she was far too young to be that old. So was Andy, for that matter. In fact, the only person in the house that wasn't jaded and bitter was Beth. Although, she'd had her share of tragedies it hadn't left a real mark on her soul. Overall she had a good life that she hadn't had to build from the ground up. Perhaps that was the real problem between Mick and Beth. He didn't want to share the darker half of his life because he wasn't sure Beth could handle it. He believed she deserved someone normal. Human. Maybe she did. Neither of them would know until he let her in.

"Is it possible for you to get your sight back?" Josef asked. Mona nodded as she fiddled with the crystal pendant hanging from her throat.

"She did something to me that was like what she did to you. She stole a part of me and locked it away for her own use. All my sister and I need to do is find it." This immediately peaked Josef's curiosity.

"Then I could regain my immortality?" Mona smiled gently and nodded.

"Yes, of course. As I said, it's just a matter of finding it."

"And finding Naomi," Josef added, the witch's name like bitter acid on his tongue.

Mick and Beth finally emerged from the kitchen, neither looking entirely happy. The dissatisfied expression on Beth's face reminded Emma of something. She had a brief flash of the two of them curled up on a gigantic bed, drinking wine and complaining about their men. Then it faded away until she couldn't be sure if she'd imagined it or not.

"So," she said, clearing her throat. "How much damage control do we need to do?"

"Since the solid evidence was destroyed, all we have to do is convince witnesses that they didn't see what they think they saw," Mona said.

"Shouldn't be hard," Andy put in. "Most people don't want to admit to the existence of the supernatural."

"Cops aren't that easy to lie to," Beth reminded her. "You'll need a really solid story to tell them."

"We could always say that we panicked and ran. That's reasonable," Mona said thoughtfully. Beth mulled it over for a minute before nodding.

"Sure, but you'll still need to explain how Mick could get shot three times and be in perfect health." Mick and Josef exchanged looks. Did they even have to be here for this meeting?

"He was wearing Kevlar?" Emma suggested tentatively. Andy bit her lip.

"That could possibly work if we said he was just feeling paranoid that day," she agreed at last. Beth held up a hand.

"However, even if he was wearing a bulletproof vest, he'd have been bruised by the impact. They'll want to see that to make sure." This stumped all of them for a minute. Mona chewed her lip before deciding to void her idea.

"Make-up?" Ellen smiled encouragingly at Mona before she realized she couldn't see her.

"Good idea," she said. "Does anyone know how to do that?" Mona cleared her throat and Andy pursed her lips.

"I do," she mumbled. Mick stared at her.

"You do?" Andy glared at the disbelieving look on his face.

"We went to a lot of different high schools and I was on a lot of different make-up crews for the plays." The disbelief hadn't faded and neither had her glare. "Just because I don't use make-up doesn't mean I don't know how to wield it."

"Sounds like we've got a plan," Emma interrupted. She really didn't need a vampire and a witch going at it in Brandon's house. Since none of them carried stage make-up with them, they simply pooled whatever make-up they had on them and gave it to Andy. She didn't look entirely confident but there wasn't a lot of time for her to complain about bad resources. The longer they stayed away from the police, the more suspicious it looked.

"Okay," Andy murmured, concentrating on the various eye shadows and foundations. "Take your shirt off and I'll see what I can do with you." Mona let out a deep sigh. Sometimes her sister spoke without thinking about what her sentences might sound like. Ellen snickered as quietly as possible. Andy, of course was oblivious as she carried the make-up into the kitchen for the better light. Mick followed, clearly bemused.

Meanwhile, Emma pulled Josef into the hallway for a more private conversation. "I want to know the story," she told him directly. "How we met, how the hell you managed to make me fall in love with you, why I can't remember any of it…"

"That story is going to take a while," he warned her, struggling to hold back the triumphant grin. She was beginning to see her past with him as a fact instead of a creative fiction.

"Then stay the night. It's not as if we don't have extra rooms." Emma regretted making the offer the minute she saw the darkening of his eyes and how they skimmed over her body. She especially regretted it when she felt her response to his lust. Eager didn't cover the sheer desperation that seemed to pound through her veins. "We're only going to talk," she told him. The breathless quality to her voice didn't make her sound terribly convincing.

"Of course," he murmured, eyes lingering at her mouth. Josef missed kissing her and he intended to make up for at least one of the kisses he'd missed over the last six months tonight. Emma cleared her throat, crossing her arms over her breasts. Maybe she was better off not knowing about their relationship. Too bad she was curious or she would have backed out in an instant. At least, she told herself that.

"You can start talking any time now," she prodded, breaking the tense silence. He smiled.

"We met at your café," Josef began and Emma gave him her undivided attention. They weren't the only ones acquainting themselves with the past.

"You didn't strike me as the theatrical type," Mick said, leaning back against the kitchen counter. It was a cool surface but even with his shirt off he wasn't sensitive to it. Cold was good for vampires.

"I was a techie. That isn't exactly theatrical. It's more like theatrical support." Andy had, more or less, gotten the colors she wanted. Now she just had to make them look like they belonged on Mick's skin.

"You're not one of those girly girls, are you?" Mick asked. He was interested in the efficient way she moved. Her hips barely swayed when she walked and her gestures were more abrupt than graceful. He could easily imagine Andy running around with boys, scraping her knees and being proud of each injury.

"I've never had enough patience to be feminine," she told him, carefully applying the first layer of make-up to his chest. It had been ages since she'd done this but it came back to her like the lyrics of a childhood lullaby. The skill had stayed in her hands. Even if she couldn't be as useful as she wanted, she had a few handy talents.

"Is your name short for something?" Andy's hands faltered and she winced.

"No," she lied but it was far too late for that. Mick smiled down at the top of her head.

"What is it?"

"None of your business," she replied curtly, smoothing out the mistake she had made with the colors. Mick had a naturally curious nature, which was probably why he was a private investigator. He liked solving mysteries, no matter how small.

"Andrea?" he guessed. Andy resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"I'm not telling you. Better give up now."

"Come on," Mick cajoled. "How bad could it be?" She broke her concentration long enough to glare at him.

"Is minding your own business really that hard?" Andy all but snapped. It was a mistake. Not enough time had passed since Mick had had his fangs in her neck and the live human blood in his system made it harder to control his impulses. He pressed his hand against the bandage on her neck, tempted to rip it off. Instead he curled his fingers around the back of her neck and stared into her wide blue eyes.

"Tell me." She nearly did. Andy nearly let her full name spill out of her lips. She nearly curled up against his body and begged forgiveness for refusing him anything. Then her tattoo burned, snapping her out of whatever Mick had done to her. She jerked back, breathing too fast.

"What did you just do?" Mick's eyes had cleared and his saner half was mentally berating himself. He wasn't sure what he'd done. None of this had happened when he bit Beth. Of course, he'd stayed away from her for four days so maybe the effect had worn off. Even when he'd regularly used live women, he hadn't exactly spent time with them afterwards.

"I'm not sure," he admitted quietly. Andy studied his face for a moment before she nodded abruptly then went back to the make-up. Obviously she wasn't any more eager to talk about it than he was. After a few silent minutes, one extremely quiet word reached his sensitive ears.

"Andromeda." Mick didn't know what to say to that. He stared down at her head and her industrious hands.

"I won't tell a soul," he promised. And he wouldn't. Who would believe him?


	10. The Food

Chapter Nine: The Food

Emma watched the sun set from Brandon's kitchen window. She couldn't see it perfectly but the pink and orange glow was unmistakable. The sun was retiring for the day. Too bad she couldn't follow its example. After all, she'd had a much busier day than any celestial body. Tomorrow would be just as bad.

Instead of climbing the stairs and burying her head beneath her covers, Emma turned to the pot of boiling water on the stove. Josef and she had taken a break for food. He'd appeared confused by the concept of eating. Then again, he hadn't eaten for about a little under four hundred years. Emma probably would have forgotten the basic mechanics as well.

Four hundred nine years old, closing in on four hundred ten. Emma thought about that as she put a bundle of spaghetti into the boiling water. She picked up the sea salt Brandon insisted was healthier and sprinkled it in the water. Would a person get bored in four hundred years? Well, clearly he was or he wouldn't be doing stupid things like falling in love with humans who were engaged to other men. Or throwing himself into a burning building just to rescue one foolhardy woman.

Emma glanced at Josef, watching his dexterous hands uncorking a bottle of red wine. She wasn't sure whether to believe the story of their relationship or not. So far her character had done just about everything she would have done if put in the situations Josef had described. Emma would have gotten mad and pushed Josef into a pool, all but ruining an expensive Armani suit. She would have accepted the challenge of a dance, then burned across the floor in the arms of another capable dancer. What she really didn't want to admit to being capable of was storming into Josef's office then letting him pin her to a wall and kiss her till she was ready to slide right out of her clothes. That part was too embarrassing for words.

Not to mention too arousing.

"It's not polite to stare," Josef pointed out while pouring them both a glass of wine. Emma blushed but watched long enough to see his hands twist the bottle when he stopped pouring to keep that lone drop of wine from sliding down the bottle and onto the nearest stainable surface. That was the move of a professional. Clearly, Josef didn't have everything done for him all the time.

"I was just thinking about how long it's probably been since you've eaten," she told him, proud of the fact that it wasn't entirely untrue. "Are you excited or something?"

"To be honest, you get over the 'I miss food' stage after the first two hundred years go by." Emma smirked. He'd made his position extremely clear. Being human was overrated.

"I'm glad you're not expecting anything great. A gourmet chef I am not." She took a tomato and basil Prego pasta sauce out of the pantry and set it on the counter. "I can open jars and heat things up."

"Well, Emma, you can console yourself with the fact that I can only open jars without a catastrophe occurring," Josef said, handing her a glass. She chuckled softly while taking a sip. It was wetter than most red wines, mostly because she hated taking a sip of a red wine that dried out her tongue.

"I hope you weren't allergic to spaghetti when you were alive or we're going to be in trouble." She poked at the noodles with a spoon, confirming that they were still on the hard side. Josef smiled.

"That's a coincidence." Emma raised a brow.

"What is?"

"The first meal I made for you was spaghetti and meatballs. Well, I didn't exactly make it but I did order it." Emma blinked, stared at the pasta and blinked again.

"Oh. That… that is a strange coincidence." Really strange. She busied her hands with the pasta sauce, pouring some of it into a glass bowl so she could heat it up in the microwave. The task distracted her from the quickening of her pulse. "When did that happen?"

"About a week after your house burned down," Josef replied. "It was our first successful date."

"Hard to believe any of our dates would be successful," Emma murmured, getting out two pasta bowls.

"You'd be surprised." She heard footsteps but she somehow wasn't expecting one large hand to slide around her waist and press against her stomach. Emma lost her balance for a second and ended up leaning against Josef for support. That was very unwise since he had no intention of keeping her on her feet. On the contrary, he seemed bent on sweeping her off of them.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, wishing it sounded more like the demand she'd wanted it to be. He brushed her hair away from her neck and pressed his mouth to the rapid beat of her pulse. Emma whimpered, much to her shame, and laced her fingers with those of the hand on her stomach.

"The better question would be: what would you like me to do?" Josef murmured, turning her in his arms until he could look into her eyes. The soft, dreamy green cut into him as it always did. He would stop if she asked. It would burn but he had a hard time refusing her when she looked like that. For that expression on her face, he would cheerfully murder anyone she wished. Emma's gaze moved from his eyes to his mouth. He didn't need any more of a hint than that.

"Josef," she whispered a moment before his mouth covered hers. Then he was kissing her and words didn't really matter. This was familiar to her. The touch of his lips was reassuring. It was like jumping into water she'd expected to be freezing cold only to find it warm and welcoming. What was more, she knew how to move with him. At least her body knew.

The microwave started beeping at her but Emma wanted to ignore it. Kissing Josef was much more interesting than getting dinner on the table. In fact, she could fall into bed with him and not think twice about it. That was, of course, completely irresponsible. Emma deliberately pulled away. "You really need to stop doing that," she managed to say, stepping out of his arms and hurrying back to the mundane chore of cooking. Josef bit back the frustrated growl that wanted to escape.

"I intend to use every weapon in my arsenal to get you back in my life." He noticed the blush in her cheeks and smirked. "A few kisses shouldn't be able to ruin the marvelous union that you seem intent on entering with Brandon. Unless, of course, those few kisses are making you rethink your decision." Emma scoffed. Although she'd been trying to block him out while getting the sauce out of the microwave and draining the pasta, her ears had been clinging to each word. Emma set the empty pot back on the stove and switched off the heat with a quick twist of her hand.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Josef, but you're not that good." The tiny voice in her head smacked its forehead and muttered about what an idiot Emma was. She couldn't help but agree when she saw the wicked gleam in Josef's eyes. Honestly, the man loved a challenge. She barely knew him, sort of, but she knew that. "Uh oh," she squeaked, making a run for the door.

"No, you don't." Josef could move faster than she could which didn't say much for her athletic skills since now he was human-slow. He caught her elbow, using the momentum she'd built up to swing her around and plaster her body against his. Emma gulped. She barely had enough time to think about how much trouble she was in before Josef swooped down and captured her lips. There was no softness here, just heat and need.

The fact that it was Josef kissing her in a kitchen jogged something loose in her memory. Several somethings, actually. Water fights, wet kisses, his broader frame pressing her against a refrigerator door while he turned her brain to mush. The remembered sensations piled onto each other so fast that she couldn't control her hands ripping at his shirt nor did she resist when Josef hauled her onto a table. Brandon and Emma shared their meals on that table. They talked about their days and wedding plans and where exactly they wanted to go on their honeymoon.

She didn't care about where she was or who she was. Or maybe she was finally beginning to care. Emma's heart was racing and skipping while her mouth attacked Josef's with just as much desperation as he had. His hands skimmed over her body and down her legs, pulling them firmly around his waist. There was still too much clothing on both of them for her position to make much of a difference but it felt good. Emma groaned, her hands faltering on the precise knot of his tie. Not just good. Sinfully good.

It wasn't as if she loved Brandon, anyway.

Emma's eyes snapped open when that all too casual thought went through her head. Oh, Jesus, she doesn't love him. She'd agreed to marry him and she really, honestly didn't love him. Josef's teeth scraped against her neck which provoked yet another rebellious though. She intended to marry a man who thought oral sex was the height of adventurous lovemaking. What the hell was she thinking?

"We need to stop," Emma said, trying to get away from Josef by crawling over the kitchen table. This time she heard the soft but dangerous rumble in his chest. He wasn't happy. In fact, he was worked up and desperate for her touch. And she was pulling away. Again.

"Your reasons had better be good," Josef muttered, looking up at her with frustrated eyes. Emma hopped off the table and ran back to the spaghetti like it was some form of sanctuary.

"You confuse me and I don't like being confused." She divided the pasta into two bowls then dumped sauce on top. Luckily it was still steaming. Frankly, she was surprised the entire kitchen wasn't steaming after the show she'd put on with Josef.

"Of course." His voice didn't sound very understanding but he wasn't pushing her. Josef was trying to see things from Emma's point of view. She had a foggy recollection of the things that had happened half a year ago. The way she reacted to him probably made her panicky and, as she'd said, confused. At least she still had those reactions. Josef shifted, more than a little uncomfortable after having Emma plastered against his body. Maybe it would have been better if she didn't react as strongly so that when she retreated he felt less like he was going to explode.

"I… I sort of…" Emma stumbled over the words, her cheeks reddening. "I remembered a little bit when we were… Um… Did we have a thing with kitchens?" Josef bit his tongue to keep from chuckling. The idea that she remembered even the tiniest thing was reassuring but the look on her face was priceless.

"You could say that."

"Anyone _could_ say it. Would it be true if they did?" Josef thought about how to answer that while she carried the food and utensils over to the table. He retrieved their wine glasses. She was going to need a drink. Emma glanced at him when she accepted her wine. "Well?" she asked pointedly.

"It would be more accurate if someone said we had a thing for any flat surface." Emma was glad she hadn't taken a sip of wine because she would have choked on it.

"You're extremely blunt," she said, focusing her eyes on her food.

"Pot and kettle, sweetheart." Josef took a bite of pasta. If he were perfectly honest, he'd admit that he had some curiosity about food. The taste, the texture, all the little details humans seemed to fawn over. It tasted good. Very different from the liquid diet he was used to but good nonetheless. At the same time, he wasn't bowled over by the experience of eating again. He actually felt a little guilty. Mick would have enjoyed this a great deal more. Too bad the universe had foisted the experience off on a reluctant Josef.

"Don't interrupt for the next minutes or so, all right?" Emma asked, her eyes fixed on Josef's face. "You're thoughtful and a little uncomfortable because you're experiencing an emotion you don't often indulge in." She met his eyes and smiled weakly. "Sorry but I've been mentally interpreting all these different expressions you have. I just wanted to say it out loud to see how crazy I was being." Josef's smile wasn't weak. On the contrary, it was extremely enthusiastic.

"You always had an eye for details." It thrilled him to the core of his fully functioning heart. She could read him like the cover of a book even without her memory. Thank the universe for small favors.

"Well, you've been telling me things about myself all day," Emma said, annoyed at herself for blushing yet again. "A little retribution seemed fair." Josef didn't reply. He simply reached across the table, took her hand and pressed a gentle kiss to her palm. His touch warmed her through and through. What frightened her most about Josef was the fact that the tension between them wasn't just sexual. There was deep emotion and connection and… Love. He loved her.

And she believed it.


	11. The Twist

Chapter Ten: The Twist

Andy stared at her hands, watching a tiny spark dance from fingertip to fingertip. This was her weakness. She could never sit still and just exist. She needed to be doing something, even if it was completely stupid. That made her a poor witch. It was why she hadn't been much help when Naomi had murdered her mother or when Mona had been stripped of her vision. Andy had trouble simply being a part of the fabric of life without wanting to concentrate on something else. However, that didn't mean she couldn't take a hint.

"Beth's a very lovely woman," Mona noted quietly. She'd been mostly silent during the cab ride back to their motel. Andy had been quick to phone a cab once the police interview had finished. Mick needed to go blood shopping and there wasn't anything else they were going to accomplish that night. Plus, Andy wanted to get the hell away from that vampire before she did something more stupid than usual.

"Yeah, she's nice," Andy agreed, staring out the window. A conversation was waiting here that she didn't want to have.

"While you and Mick were in the kitchen, I got a chance to talk with her. It's strange how you can tell just by being with someone how deeply in love they are." Andy winced slightly. "Even when that love is causing them pain, there's a certain glow to it."

"Well, it's painful when you crack open your ribs and expose your heart to someone else," she muttered, trying to maintain the tiny spark she'd been playing with. Of course, once she was distracted it blinked out of existence. Typical.

"Mick had a very similar feel about him," Mona pointed out, tilting her head towards her sister and listening intently to the uncomfortable slide of jeans against the cab seats.

"And people say you're blind." Andy knew laughing it off wasn't going to work but that didn't mean she couldn't try.

"Maybe you should lend them a hand." Mona bit her lip to hold back the grin when her sister's confused sputters reached her ears.

"W-what? No way. I'm not poking my head into some lover's quarrel."

"You already have," Mona said, tapping the side of her neck. "Thanks to that feeding there's some connection between the two of you. It's too late to back out now." Andy started to protest but her sister held up a hand to stop her. "Besides, the two of you need to learn the same lesson. Acceptance." The other witch fell silent. She hated it when Mona was right. While Andy had been an unruly kid, Mona had always had a calm, even temperament. She could look at a problem from all angles and pick the best way to go at it. It got annoying but the weird sisterly tolerance/love kept Andy from throttling her. Plus, now that she had the job of watching out for her sister instead of visa versa, Andy couldn't say she envied Mona the task. Responsibility was a heavy burden.

"What would I do, exactly? Lock them in a closet until they worked out their issues?" For some reason she wasn't thrilled by the idea of Mick and Beth alone in a closet. It made her skin itch.

"That's one way of going about it," Mona said, actually considering it for a few minutes. "However, talking to Mick about his vampire issues might be more helpful until he reaches the point where he could actually allow Beth into that part of his life." Andy stared at her with disbelief.

"How do you know all this stuff? It's been about a day since we've met these people." Mona smiled benignly.

"I have excellent ears." Andy rolled her eyes. As if that was the only way Mona gathered information.

The driver pulled up to their motel and casually told them the price. Andy struggled with the snap on her wallet then shelled out the requested amount. Thank the goddess their mission here was backed by old money from some of the better known witching families in the country or they would be broke. The sisters climbed out of the cab then made their way up the stairs to their home away from home. Not that they'd ever had one solid home before. Their mother had moved them around a lot. Since her job had been to find magic abusers and teach them the error of their ways, staying put didn't make sense.

Andy wasn't sure why she was thinking so much about her childhood. Mick had brought it up and now she kept mulling it over in her head. Her preoccupation kept her from noticing the open door, at least at first. Then she blinked, focusing in on it.

"Mona, stay here a minute," she told her sister, taking a few cautious steps forward.

"What is it?"

"Our door is wide open and it really shouldn't be." Andy peaked into their room. It looked like a bull on steroids had gone through the place. The bed had been flipped over and clothes littered the floor. Someone had been seriously ticked off.

"Is there anyone there?" her sister called out. Andy turned around to answer but it was just as well that she didn't get the chance. Her answer would have been wrong.

"Bitch!" A young man slammed into her body and pinned her to the ground. The pressure of his hands on her skin ground the bones together painfully hard. Andy kneed him in the stomach but the angle was wrong. He only winced then punched her. She tasted a warm, coppery substance and knew her lip had been split.

"Andy!" Mona shouted. She could see her blindly reaching out with one hand while the other clutched the doorframe. The guy couldn't have been more than seventeen but the hate in his eyes was much older when he turned to look at Mona. Andy used her gangly 5'11" body to flip him over while he was distracted and did a credible job of blackening his eye before a knife cut into her upper thigh. She shrieked, jerking away and taking the knife with her.

Unfortunately, the knife wasn't a knife at all. It was an athame. Witches used it for the same reason they used a wand, to direct energy. However it was always possible to charge magical tools with both good and negative energy. This one was heavy with negative energy. Black magic moved fast through her blood stream and Andy started to shake. Her skin felt cold, as if she'd just been put in a freezer. Her tattoo remained black and inactive, unable to protect her from something already in her body.

"Jesus, Patrick, did you have to wreck the place?" She tried to distinguish the words. Everything seemed so out of focus, tilted at strange angles. Another man stood in the doorway, surveying the damage. He was holding Mona's limp body over his shoulder. A stab of fear broke through the numbness for a minute and Andy lurched towards them, only to fall down again less than three seconds later. "Tough girl," he murmured thoughtfully.

"She punched me in the face," the boy who'd attacked her, Patrick, snapped at him. "And the two of them killed Adam. So what if I wanted to mess up their room? We should kill them both."

"Naomi wouldn't be happy with you," the older man pointed out. He took the boy by the shoulder and led him away. "Don't worry. They'll both suffer enough to satisfy even you."

Andy couldn't stop trembling. Her teeth were clacking together and it felt like frost was spreading along the surface of her body. She needed help. Even in a nearly paralyzed state she realized that. Slowly, she tried to unbend her fingers and pull out the athame. Andy's shaking worsened the damage to her leg but eventually the blade slid out then clattered to the ground.

Mick. She needed to call Mick. Mona had the cell phone. Andy whimpered quietly, curling into a tight fetal position. The cold reached deep into her body and even bone marrow felt like tiny ice crystals. There had to be a phone in the room somewhere. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that she couldn't make herself move. It seemed more and more likely that she was going to die of hypothermia even though it wasn't even below seventy degrees outside.

Andy closed her eyes and took control of her breathing. This was life or death. She needed to focus. Listening to the slow throb of her heart, she thought about blood. Her blood. Andy pictured crimson blood flowing through her veins, its pace slowing down as the cold took a firmer grip on her heart. Blood that she had given to Mick. _Help._ The word wasn't important, just the emotion behind it. The fear. _Help_.

After that, she wasn't really aware of anything except the cold. Nothing else seemed real. When someone shook her shoulder, called her name, Andy didn't respond. Not even when that someone called her Andromeda, which would usually send her into a rage. She couldn't work up enough energy to care.

_Poison foul and blackest ice, find a new witch to entice._

Scalding water burned across Andy's skin and a nearly inhuman scream escaped her throat. Half frozen ad half scorched, she fought hard against the solid grip that held her beneath the spray of water.

"Dammit, Andy, hold still!"

_Shift the pain from her to me, as I will so mote it be._

Andy drew the hot, steaming air in with a ragged gasp. The cold drained out of her and was replaced with the oppressive heat in a shower she didn't recognize. At least she recognized the man.

"Mick," she breathed. His grip on her loosened once he realized she wasn't fighting anymore. The two of them were soaked to the bone but that wasn't their biggest problem. "Mona. I heard her, she was in my head and I heard…" _Shift the pain from her to me._ "Naomi has her," Andy finally said, meeting his eyes. Guilt fed on her roiling stomach. Her sister was in trouble and she'd still gone out of her way to save Andy. Even when Andy couldn't manage to protect her.

"Slow down and tell me exactly what happened," Mick commanded. Since she was no longer trembling and her body temperature had gone back to normal, he turned off the shower. Andy looked like a strong gust of breeze was going to topple her so he helped her slowly out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her shoulders.

"The door was open so I told Mona to stay back while I checked it out. All our stuff was trashed," Andy began, going through the events slowly in her mind. "Then this kid knocks me down. We fight for a minute or so and then he stabs me with an athame." She winced, the stinging at her mouth finally attracting her attention. "Although, not before artfully splitting my lip."

"I noticed that," Mick said, glancing at the wound and choking back a comment about her mouth being an easy target. "What's an athame?"

"Ceremonial tool, sort of like a wand except it can be a hell of a lot more dangerous." Andy looked down at her thigh and moved the ripped denim away from the place she'd been hurt. It had stopped bleeding. Instead, the coloring there was black and a toxic shade of blue. Andy let out a tired sigh. It was going to heal badly. The black would probably never fade away, either. Where dark magic touches, signs of the damage remain. "We need to find my sister. They took her after I went down." She tried to move away from his arms and almost fell flat on her face. Mick caught her before she could add a broken nose to the list of injuries.

"You can't go anywhere right now. You're wet, you're hurt and you're obviously exhausted." She glared at him for stating the obvious. "Would Mona want you charging off in this condition?" Her glare weakened. He had a point. She wouldn't approve of it at all.

"You get one night off only," Andy snapped at him, trying to be as firm as possible while her hair was plastered to her face. "Tomorrow morning we start looking for her. Immediately." Mick bit back a sigh. If she was going to drag him out in daylight he was going to have to sleep tonight instead of looking into Mona's disappearance without Andy peeking over his shoulder.

"Agreed." Mick picked her up, rolling his eyes internally when she started in on a rant about how she was perfectly capable of walking down the stairs. He needed to get her dry clothes. Actually, he was in need of those himself. When he'd stepped into the shower, he hadn't really been thinking about clothing damage. He just needed to get her trembling to stop. He needed her eyes to open up, for her to speak to him.

Why had he needed her to start talking again?

Neither of them talked about how he had found her. Andy was slowly beginning to figure out that there was more to vampires than weird eyes and sharp fangs. She thought Mick was starting to realize that, too. Either way, they didn't talk much. She curled up on his couch and he took sanctuary in his freezer.

"Mona," Andy whispered softly once the entire apartment had gone silent. The only response came from Andy's memory. _The two of you need to learn the same lesson. Acceptance. _She snorted and buried her face in a cushion. As if she and Mick had anything in common.


	12. The Mole

Chapter Eleven: The Mole

Emma didn't want to open her eyes. She was awake and unlikely to fall back asleep any time soon but she really, really didn't want to get up. With a great deal of reluctance she slowly peaked between her eyelids. Brandon's living room bathed in early morning light greeted her. She tried to recall exactly why she'd fallen asleep on the couch last night. It probably had something to do with the body curled up behind hers.

After dinner, Josef had gone straight back into the story of their brief time together. She still couldn't remember what had really gone on but his words stuck with her. Honestly, the whole thing seemed so unlikely. Vampires in comas and bargains with witches and falling in love with a hedonistic businessman, none of it sounded like events that belonged in her life.

She glanced at Josef over her shoulder. He was a large man and they were on a small couch. He couldn't have been terribly comfortable squeezed in between Emma and the back of the couch. Still, he had stayed. Emma realized she was smiling and immediately wiped that daft affectionate expression off her face. She didn't really know him yet. There was no reason to be… mushy. Emma tried to slide out of his arms but only made it halfway to the floor before Josef began to wake up.

"Emma?" His voice was thick with sleep and Emma felt that stupid smile creep up on her again.

"Go back to sleep," she whispered. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Then, without really thinking about it, she leaned in and gently kissed him. Josef's lips moved quietly against her mouth and suddenly Emma rather liked the idea of kissing him for the rest of the day. She pulled back, scampering out of the living room as fast and as quietly as she could manage.

Emma almost ran up the stairs, skidding into her bathroom and quickly shutting the door. Once she was sure she was alone, Emma let out a deep sigh. She knew she was in a lot of trouble now. It had been one thing when he'd been seducing her. Obviously she shouldn't have kissed him back but she could claim temporary insanity. Josef's kisses could drive anyone up the wall. Now she'd gone and kissed him for absolutely no reason at all. No reason except he'd looked sweet and vulnerable and she'd wanted to give him a 'good morning' kiss. Emma slapped herself on the forehead. "You haven't got the sense God gave a goose," she snapped at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Since her reflection looked slightly contrite Emma left it at that and headed for the shower.

While she scrubbed her hair with her favorite grapefruit shampoo, Emma suffered a bout of guilt. Poor Brandon. No wonder he hadn't wanted to go to Belgium. He'd probably wondered if she'd take up with the first rich, handsome man that walked past her. Well, she'd just have to stop being quite so interested in Josef. That couldn't be so hard. He was only a man, after all.

Well, a man who had been turned into a vampire and then turned back into a man. Maybe nothing was simple anymore. Emma ran her fingers lightly over the scar on her right wrist left over from the piece of glass that had temporarily called one of her major arteries home. Tragedy struck at any moment. She'd learned that. Therefore, destroying a perfectly good relationship for one that only sounded like a convoluted fiction story didn't make any sense. Emma couldn't think why she was at all tempted by it.

"_Why? You might as well ask why you draw breath or how I exist. It simply is." _Emma abruptly shut off the water. Josef's voice rang in her head. When had he told her that? Her head began to throb, the warning signs of an intense migraine. She got out of the shower and headed for her medication. Remembering could wait until she knew she wouldn't be holding an icepack to her head for the rest of the day.

Twenty minutes later Emma was tying her shoelaces and wishing she had enough time to braid her hair. Ellen had begun to arrive at work earlier, which wasn't really a problem. It was just that Emma liked to have a few minutes alone with the café before she opened it up for business. She picked up a canvas bag, which usually held her sketchpad, keys and wallet, but since she'd passed out at her shop, the sketchpad was still there. Before leaving her room she paused, glancing at _The Good Spell Book_ lying innocently on the flood. "Why not?" she murmured, scooping it up and stuffing it into her back. Life was uncertain. She might find herself needing a good spell or two.

Emma hurried down the stairs then shrieked when Josef slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest. "You gave me a heart attack," she muttered, lightly smacking his shoulder. Josef got a thoughtful look on his face before casually pressing his ear to her chest. She tried to get her jaw to close before he looked at her again.

"Seems to be working just fine." Emma smiled quickly and wondered when the barrage of questions would start. After all, he was new to her morning routine. Sort of. A normal guy would ask where she was going, when she'd be back, what he should do in the meantime and other questions like that. "You haven't eaten," he pointed out, a mixture of disapproval and concern shaping his face. She blinked at him.

"There's food at the café. I can grab an apple or something."

"You and I both know you'll get distracted and forget," Josef told her. Emma opened her mouth, intending to tell him to mind his own business, when something totally unexpected flew out.

"I'm not feeding you right now so you don't have to worry about my eating habits." Both of them froze, a little uncertain if they'd heard correctly.

"Emma," Josef began, hope lighting his eyes. She panicked.

"I've got to go to work." Emma zipped out the door in less time than it took Romeo and Juliet to fall in love.

The early morning sun was gently warming Emma's skin when she got out of the car and made her way towards the café. Ellen would probably be there in about half an hour. That would be enough time for Emma to look over everything and see if her baby was all right. She frowned slightly when she saw a young woman sitting down in front of the door to Clay Café. Ellen had a key so there was no reason for her to wait outside if she'd come early. As she drew nearer, Emma could make out the girl's face. She was pale and fine-boned, her hair glowing platinum blonde in the sunlight. There were black army boots on her feet and butterflies on her forest green skirt. "Excuse me?" Emma called. The girl's head shot up, eyes the exact color of whiskey fastening on Emma's face.

"Are you Miss Emmaline Bradford?" she asked, her voice incredibly soft. Emma nodded.

"That'd be me." Her surprise guest stood up and Emma was surprised by how tiny she was. Even Ellen was stouter than this kid, which was saying something.

"I'm Susie DuBois. I… I used to live with Naomi." Emma's face immediately paled. The change alarmed Susie who rushed to explain. "Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you or anything like that. It's just that I know she took something that belonged to you. She used to talk about you every now and again." That didn't comfort Emma in the slightest.

"What did she say?"

"She complained, mostly. She'd say you were annoyingly stubborn and how it shouldn't be so hard to repress your memories." Emma went even stiller, if that was possible. So Naomi had done something to her memories after all. But what?

"So if you're not here to do me any harm, why are you here?" she asked, studying the girl who couldn't have been over fourteen. Susie glanced away from the older woman nervously.

"I want to help you." Emma quirked a brow.

"Help me what?"

"Get your life back, of course," Susie told her, confused as to how they could be discussing anything else. "After Naomi totaled that car and put you in a coma I would have thought you wanted a little revenge." Emma gaped at her.

"She… she what?" Josef hadn't said anything about that. It seemed like a rather large detail for him to have simply forgotten. Her eyes narrowed in thought. Was he hiding something from her?

"My brother found out about all of it. That's why we were going to leave." Susie's eyes watered and she blinked rapidly to keep back the tears. "Naomi slit his throat and had his body dumped on a sidewalk in broad daylight." Andy had mentioned a kid getting his throat slit and that Naomi was involved. It would stretch the limits of credulity to assume that this was some other boy.

"Have you talked to the police?" Susie looked at her as if she'd just sprouted a second head.

"Of course not! I'd put the whole supernatural world at risk."

"Oh, right, the supernatural world," Emma mumbled. Since when did the supernatural have a world? Better question: did she really want to know? "Why are you here, then? Aren't you exposing the supernatural world by telling me?"

"You're already a part of that world," Susie told her, as if it should be obvious. It wasn't quite as obvious to Emma.

"Good morning, Emma!" She heard Ellen calling her and turned around. The redhead paused to take in Susie. "Who's that?"

"Susie DuBois. Apparently she knows Naomi." In a flash of white eyes and fangs, Ellen appeared before Susie and curled her fingers tightly around the kid's throat. A hostile snarl curled her usually charming mouth.

"What does that witch want with Emma now?" Emma's eyes widened. She had never seen Ellen look like that. Ever.

"Ellen, she's not a friend of hers. I think she's here to help." Emma tugged at her friend's arm. Ellen didn't seem fragile now. Instead it was if her bones were made of diamond, hard and impossible to break. Slowly, Ellen loosened her grip on Susie. The kid gasped for breath, panic still wild in her eyes.

"I don't mean any harm," she wheezed. Ellen's expression softened and the friendly face Emma had grown accustomed to reappeared.

"I hope I didn't bruise you too badly." Susie shook her head, gently pressing her hand to her throat.

"No, it's okay. It was an understandable reaction."

"I'll make you some tea for your throat," Ellen said. She looked at her employer who was still staring at them both with disbelief. "The door, Emma?"

"Right, sorry," Emma muttered, getting out her keys and unlocking the door. Once Ellen had set Susie up with a cup of tea, the three women sat at one of the café style tables for yet another impromptu conference.

"As I was saying before, my brother was going to leave Naomi. He'd been thinking about it for a while because of how she acted when she thought no one was watching. But he was a guy and she's pretty in a hypnotic kind of way so he didn't leave. Then when he found out about what she'd done to Emma, he didn't want to have her around his little sister anymore."

"Why was he with her in the first place?" Emma asked, confused. "What happened to your parents?"

"They were dead and Adam, my brother, had been working to try to support the both of us. It's hard to do that and go to high school. We were struggling. Then there was Naomi. She took care of us. She took care of a lot of kids in situations like ours." Ellen's expression was dark, thinking the same thing that Emma was. Naomi could make an army of used and abused teenagers, especially in L.A. The city was bristling with them.

"Now you want revenge for what she did to your brother," Ellen murmured, not bothering to make it a question. Susie nodded.

"I want to make up for our mistakes. I know a lot about how Naomi works. I could be useful." Emma and Ellen exchanged glances. They knew exactly what Susie was offering. She wanted to be a spy for the side of good and truth. However good her intentions were, the side of corruption and evil could kill her as easily as it had killed her brother. Neither woman wanted to claim responsibility for sending a kid into the line of fire.

"Maybe you should get out of town, Susie. Get on with your life." She stared at Emma and, for the first time, she could see the all-consuming despair in the young girl's eyes.

"What life?"


	13. The Clash

Chapter Twelve: The Clash

Andy carefully picked up a smashed bottle of perfume. It was ruined, the liquid even now staining the carpet, but the bottle itself had a sort of macabre beauty. Half was an elegant design while the upper half threatened her skin with vicious spears of glass. A bit like magic, really. If a witch didn't handle it with care, she wound up getting hurt.

She tossed the bottle into the motel trash bin with the other now useless items. While she continued to scavenge for clothes that hadn't been slashed, incense that hadn't been crushed and candles that hadn't been broken, Mick inspected the spot on the floor where he had found her freezing to death. The scent of her blood was the most obvious. He closed his eyes, searching for something else. Testosterone and an overload of hormones. Yet another teenager had been here but it didn't smell like the same one who had shot him. He smelled Mona as well, her fear leaving an imprint at the threshold of the room. There was another male scent but this time older. This man was in his late thirties.

"Has Naomi ever used adults before?" Mick asked her, crouching beside the knife Andy had identified as an athame. It reeked of something foul like rotting flesh but also more than that. Mick couldn't name it nor did he want to.

"Sure," Andy said, rolling up a pair of jeans and stuffing it into a duffel bag. "They're as open to bargains as teenagers although admittedly not as desperate. Well, usually not as desperate. Let's just say teenagers are easier." She paused and looked over at him. "Why? Did you smell something?"

"Nothing that would help," Mick told her. At least it wouldn't help immediately. If he happened to smell that man again, things would change. Andy slung the bag over her shoulder and approached him.

"There's not much here. We're going to have to see if teenagers have started to turn up missing and follow the trail from there." She studied the athame for a moment before picking up what used to be a white skirt and wrapping the blade up tightly. "I'll get rid of this later." To leave it lying around would be irresponsible.

"Andy," Mick began, hesitating when she glanced up at him, "I don't know exactly what happened last night. When you called me…"

"Since you can manipulate my thoughts and feelings I thought it was only fair to be able to call for a little medical aid," Andy cut him off briskly. Then she stood up and headed straight for the car. The last thing she needed to do was talk about the eerie blood connection that lay between them. Especially since Mona thought she was supposed to convince Mick that being a vampire wasn't all that freaky and that Beth could totally handle it.

Andy was not the relationship fairy. Having never had one, how the hell was she supposed to fix one?

"Andromeda!" The aggravated voice came from directly behind her and she jumped, realizing Mick had decided to settle for faster-than-the-eye-could-see as his normal speed. "Do you think you could hold still for two seconds and let me talk to you?" She spun on her heel, ramming a finger into his chest.

"My name is Andy," she reminded him pointedly. "And we have more important things to do." Mick was about to disagree when his phone went off. He ripped it out of his pocket and glared at the caller I.D. Abruptly his angry expression softened into confusion.

"It's Emma."

"Better pick it up, then," Andy muttered, sliding into the passenger seat of Mick's car. She concentrated on its classic lines and upholstery while Mick talked to the artist Andy barely knew. The car made her feel better. It wasn't going to argue with her or make her feel uncomfortable. Cars were good that way.

A minute later Mick hopped in and quickly turned the ignition. Andy tilted her head to the side, giving him a questioning look. "Where's the fire?"

"Emma found us a lead," he told her, pulling out of the parking lot and faithfully driving the speed limit the entire way. It drove Andy crazy.

"About time you two got here," Emma said once they walked in her door. Andy looked around briefly. The walls were a healthy light green, the white tile floor immaculate. She'd thought this place was fun the last time she'd been here and she still thought that in the early morning light. It felt good. As Mona would say, the energy was positive.

The good feelings stopped when she looked at the tiny teenaged girl sitting at one of the tables. There was something wrong with her. Something really, seriously wrong. Andy heard a dangerous growl behind her as Mick moved in front of her, obviously defensive. Ellen quickly blocked his line of sight.

"I know she feels dangerous. I nearly killed her when I first met her. Trust me when I say she isn't a threat."

"How do you know?" Mick asked tightly, not relaxing in the slightest.

"Aside from the fact that we could kill her by breathing hard?" Ellen inquired, a wry smile curving her mouth. "She's been in an extremely bad environment so the smell sticks to her like super glue. But Susie isn't all that bad."

"You can kill me after I give you the information I have, if you want," Susie offered quietly. By this point the tension in Mick's body had eased. The scent on the kid was the same as the athame but it was because she'd been infected by that kind of magic. She didn't practice it. His nose was getting better at picking out the difference.

"I'd prefer it if there was no killing," Emma put in, more than a little uncomfortable about Susie nearly getting ripped to pieces for the second time that day.

"You and me both," Andy muttered. She took a seat across from Susie and held out her hand. "Andy Brodrick." Susie's eyes went wide.

"Is your sister named Mona?" Andy immediately went tense.

"Yes. Why? Do you know her?"

"I saw Patrick and David take her in," she said quietly, her face an even paler shade of white. "Naomi said she was going to hand her over to the kids who had anger management problems. She said they needed a new punching bag." Andy clutched the table, rage running hot through her veins. A thread of temper leaked free and Susie's teacup splintered.

"Andy," Mick warned, gripping her shoulder. "Calm down." She shrugged off his hand.

"I'll calm down when I want to calm down," she snapped. Ellen winced. That wasn't a good tone to take with a dominant vampire. She interfered in the only way she could without getting her head sliced off. Diplomacy.

"Why don't we listen to what Susie has to say before we go off into our separate corners to fight each other?" she suggested lightly. Emma glanced between the witch and the vampire, wondering what she was missing that Ellen could so easily understand.

"I can tell you where Naomi's keeping her," Susie offered. Andy's attention immediately swung back to her.

"Where?" she demanded.

"A formerly abandoned office building downtown. Naomi's made it into a sort of club for homeless and/or troubled teens. It's painted white so you couldn't miss it." Andy swung out of her chair, intent on charging out and saving Mona. Thankfully Mick was more logical about the situation. He blocked her path.

"We can't burst in there without a plan." Andy glared at him, attempting to step around his black-clad self without much success.

"I'm not leaving my sister to the dubious mercy of Naomi's pets!" Her eyes flickered to Susie. "No offense." The girl just shrugged, understanding Andy's meaning. Emma slid over to Ellen's side while Andy and Mick got into it.

"All right, I'm not completely sure what's going on but I'm going to summarize what I think I know. Mona's been kidnapped by Naomi and Andy's desperate to get her back. Meanwhile, there's some bizarre tension going on between Andy and Mick. Care to elaborate?" A brief smile lit Ellen's face even as she nervously studied the increasing trouble between two very different supernatural beings.

"I don't know much about the Mona situation. As for Andy and Mick, they're trying to deal with the mark." Emma raised a brow, clearly not getting it. "Mick drank from Andy but then he stayed near her afterward. I mean, they weren't cuddling but they were close enough for Mick's vampire nature to assume that Andy was his. Not romantically speaking. It's more territorial than anything else. His protecting her gives his instincts more proof that Andy is his to protect in the first place."

"And they're at each other's throat because…?"

"Because Andy isn't respecting him as her master, for lack of a better term, and it's pissing him off. His anger bounces off her, making her angrier, and then you just get two extremely angry people about to whip out the stakes and flame throwers." Emma hoped they'd get to that phase somewhere outside of her café. Not that she wanted them killing each other, that is. She had some vague memories of Mick, unspecific feelings of friendship. Plus, he seemed like a generally nice guy, er, vampire.

"Sounds like a preternatural mess," she observed.

"I'm probably not describing it well. I learned most of this from Josef." Emma turned more fully toward Ellen.

"You've been talking to Josef?" Ellen blushed.

"Well, yeah. He'd visit on the weekends and ask about you. Then he'd talk to me about things in general, usually vampire things. I didn't get any proper instruction from my sire. He said it was best if I learned what I was capable of instead of denying that I was capable of anything at all."

"Was he… nice to you?" Emma felt like an idiot. She was acting like a high school girl asking her best friend if she approved of her new boyfriend. Josef wasn't her boyfriend, of course. Emma already had one.

"Surprisingly, he was. Most older vampires treat anyone under one hundred like they're brainless children. I kept expecting him to tell me to sit in the corner and be quiet. He was really polite about the age difference, though. Sure, he was sarcastic about everything else but he didn't bring up my inexperience." Ellen watched the warmth grow in her friend's eyes and couldn't resist a smile. Emma wouldn't admit it for at least a month but she was falling head over heels for Josef Kostan. Again.

"At least I can look in the mirror and not care about what lies beneath the surface unlike some people I know," Andy retorted to one of Mick's more cutting insults about her incapability. A bell rang in the back of her mind, telling her she was crossing into dangerous waters. The bell turned into a fire alarm when the vampire's eyes flickered from hazel to an icy whiteness.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," he growled.

"You've decided that you can't let yourself be happy because then the supposed monster inside of you would be happy. And monsters can't be allowed any happiness in Mick St. John's world of black and white, can they?" Andy thought he was going to kill her. For a real solid minute, the rage on his face made her think she'd mouthed off for the last time. Then in a flash of movement he was gone. In an instant the anger seeped out of her and she collapsed onto a nearby chair. Andy panted softly, staring at the sparkling tile beneath her feet.

"Are you all right?" Emma asked cautiously, coming forward once it seemed like the witch wouldn't turn her into a frog for trying to help.

"Not really," she murmured. Andy ran her fingers through her hair in thought. "I don't know why I keep doing that to him. I bite his head off at every opportunity. I push him and push him and _push_ him." She looked up at Emma, her eyes those of one very lost young woman. "Why do I keep doing that?"

It struck a chord deep inside, that question. Emma felt some part of her respond to it with absolute certainty. She knew the answer. Knew it from experience she couldn't even remember clearly.

"You push him away so that he doesn't matter," she murmured, taking a seat beside Andy. "You push him away because you know with absolute certainty that he's the one that can break your heart."


	14. The Influence

Chapter Thirteen: The Influence

"It's not that difficult," Andy mumbled to herself, pacing back and forth in the elevator rising up to Mick's floor. "I just have to apologize. No big deal." The hell it wasn't. She hated apologizing. It was always worse when she was in the wrong. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Andy hesitated a moment. It had only been an hour. Maybe she should let him cool down.

She did not have any more time to give him to cool down. Mona was in danger. Each passing second meant pain for her. Andy stepped out of the elevator and walked straight to Mick's door. The little burst of courage faded before she could raise her hand to knock. Instead she began to pace back and forth.

Emma had been right. Mick scared her. Not because he was a vampire but because… She liked him. Andy shoved her hands in her pockets and stared intently at the door. It wouldn't kill her to admit that she liked him a tiny bit. Maybe she should throw that in with her apology. "Come on, you can do this," she muttered. Before she could retreat, Andy raised her hand and pounded on the door. A tiny voice in her head whispered that no one was home and she should just go rescue Mona by herself. She did her best to resist that impulse.

"Mick?" she called, knocking on the door again. It occurred to her that maybe he wouldn't be all that willing to open the door. "Mick, you in there?" There was no response. Andy sighed and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "I know you're probably staring at me on your security camera which is really obnoxious." She bit her lip. "But reasonable. I can be a serious pain in the ass. I'm sorry about that." Andy thought she heard someone move behind the door. Apparently the 'I'm sorry' bit was the only thing that was going to work. "I shouldn't have attacked you like that. I knew it would piss you off and I think I wanted you to be angry so you wouldn't stop me from running to my sister. It was stupid. Especially since you're my ride and you have all my stuff," she joked weakly. The door beeped and swung open, revealing a still very annoyed Mick St. John. Andy's faint smile vanished.

"Is that the only reason you're here?"

"No," she replied quickly. "No, I was just demonstrating my shitty comedic timing." Mick stared at her for a very tense, silent minute.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" he prompted. Andy nodded.

"Yes. I was wrong. You were only trying to keep me from doing something stupid and I acted very badly. I'm sorry for that."

"Good," he murmured, satisfied that she wasn't lying by the pained expression on her face. Andy wasn't the apologetic type but he wasn't completely pacified just yet. "And the rest of it?" She blinked.

"The rest of it?"

"The judging part of your tirade," Mick told her.

"Oh. Oh, that." Andy wasn't sorry for that. At all. How was she going to put this? "I'm sorry I couldn't find a more tactful way to say it." He slammed the door in her face. She winced. "All right, I admit, that came out badly. But I meant what I said, Mick. You don't believe you deserve to be happy because there's a dark side to your nature that you think is evil." He didn't respond. Her temper, which she'd been handling so well, began to spark a little. "You're so convinced you're a monster but there's nothing monstrous about you." His door swung open again.

"How can you say that?" he demanded. "I fed from you, Andy. I took your blood, sank my fangs into your neck."

"I offered," she reminded him pointedly. "It wasn't as if you'd attacked me."

"I have done terrible things." His eyes were dark, haunted. Mick was a guilt-ridden soul. Andy wished it hadn't been her that the fates had thrown into his life to wake him up. She was not patient or gentle. She wouldn't be able to gradually ease him out of those years of self-torture.

"Who hasn't?" she snapped. "Besides, anyone you hurt or killed when you were first turned wasn't your fault. You couldn't control yourself so it was your sire's job to look out for you. Yeah, I talked to Ellen," she said, observing the surprised look on his face in response to her knowledge about vampires. "And once you had control, did you kill anyone that didn't deserve it? That wouldn't be walking around hurting other people if you'd let them live?"

"It's not just what I've done," Mick protested, unwillingly distressed by how badly Andy's words were damaging his argument. "It's what I can do, what I want to do to people."

"So, what, you're going to crucify yourself because you have bad thoughts?" she asked. Mick practically snarled at her.

"You're oversimplifying it."

"I think you're making it too complicated," Andy retorted. He took her arm and dragged her into his apartment, shoving the door closed.

"Do you believe I'm some kind of tame vampire you don't have to worry about? That I could never hurt you?" Mick glanced at the bandage on her neck. "No one is really safe from me, you least of all." Andy wanted to cover her neck, her right hand twitching a little with the need. She stopped herself from doing it. If she cracked then her argument would be ruined and Mick would still go around hating himself.

"I'll admit that you have a little power over me but it's nothing I can't fight off," she told him. After all, her tattoo had flared last time. She had no reason to believe it would fail her.

"You honestly believe that?" Andy nodded then bit her tongue when Mick's eyes paled to white. She could admit that his vamp face was off-putting but it wasn't half as bad as some of the things she'd seen in horror movies. And in real life.

"Are you trying to prove something, Mick?" she asked, remaining casual. He came toward her and Andy fought the instinct telling her to retreat.

"I'm dangerous."

"Everyone is," she retorted. "In one way or another, we're all dangerous. We're all capable of monstrous things. But does that make us all monsters?" He paused and Andy continued to speak. "You're a good man. I don't believe you really want to hurt anyone."

"You obviously don't know me that well," Mick said in reply. He had a point to prove and, by God, he was going to do it. Andy's breath caught in her throat when something in his eyes changed. It was the same look he'd given her in Emma's kitchen. She could feel the same pull in her blood, urging her to submit. "I could do awful things to you, Andromeda."

"Andy," she corrected weakly. "I could do the same to you." He listened to his instincts, telling him to push a little harder, look a little deeper.

"No, you couldn't." Mick was right. She wouldn't ever be able to hurt him. She should apologize for being so silly, do whatever he asked. Andy's arm burned and it shook the mist from her mind. She attempted to take a step back. Mick caught her arm. "No." The burn continued but Andy couldn't heed it this time. There was more power in his voice than her arm. Her blood was his blood. She didn't have a choice.

After what seemed like an eternity but in reality were probably only a few minutes, Mick stepped away from her. His eyes gradually bled back to hazel. "Understand?" Andy was shaken. Andy was afraid. But Andy was not robbed of her ability to speak.

"You could have made me do anything. You didn't. What part of that proves you're a monster?"

In a different part of town, a similarly stubborn woman was standing in front of an office building and debating whether or not she should go inside. Emma couldn't believe she was thinking about turning back now. She'd asked Ellen for the address, had driven all the way here and suddenly she had a case of nerves. What on earth for? She was just going to look around Josef's office. She hoped.

The receptionist looked up as Emma walked through the front doors. She smiled brightly.

"Good afternoon, Miss Bradford. It's been a long time since I've seen you around here." And Mr. Kostan had been in a bad mood during that time. It was her hope that Miss Bradford's appearance would calm him down.

"Oh, uh, I've been a little… preoccupied." Emma had no idea what to say. This woman knew her but Emma couldn't remember how. She hotfooted it to the elevator, pressed the button for the top floor and waited for it to get there. After a few seconds she realized there was no way she could have known which floor Josef was on. "Christ," she muttered, leaning against the wall for support. Maybe Josef's stories hadn't been as fictional as she'd wanted to believe.

The doors opened and Emma decided she might as well get out and do what she came to do. Even if little bits of information mysteriously popped into her head, like which floor Josef's office was on and which door she needed to go through, that didn't mean that they'd been… That she… Emma sighed and opened the door. If she couldn't even articulate her thoughts on the subject, there was little point in thinking about it.

Once she was inside Josef's office she got the strongest feeling of déjà vu she'd had since Josef had walked into her life. The large windows were familiar. The tile floors were familiar. The paintings, the sculptures, the many TVs broadcasting the rise and fall of different stocks, the ornate desk Josef was standing behind, all of it was familiar. What was most familiar, however, was the way he smiled at her.

"Emma," he murmured. The staff of capable looking men quickly made their way out of the room. It had been many months but they remembered well enough Mr. Kostan's rules about what happened when Miss Bradford came to visit. She was always first priority.

"Josef." She looked around. "Nice place." He smirked.

"Familiar?" Emma decided not to answer that particular question. Instead she looked at him. He must have had a change of clothes here because he wasn't wearing the same suit he'd woken up in. No jacket, just pristine trousers, a dark red silk shirt and suspenders. She'd always loved that shirt because of how it complimented his skin tone and outlined every inch of him. Emma blinked several times.

"I think I remember that shirt," she said quietly. His smirk widened into a smile.

"Your heartbeat always quickened a little whenever I wore this color," Josef said, moving around the desk to approach her. "I wish I could hear it now."

"You already have a pretty healthy advantage," Emma pointed out. He leaned in to kiss her and she put her hands on his chest to keep him back. "Need I remind you that I'm engaged?" She moved her left hand up so he could see the ring she'd found in her workroom behind the trash bin. Of course, Josef didn't need to know about the details.

Emma had expected his eyes to darken. She thought she'd see that flash of temper again. Maybe he'd even kiss her to prove a point, not that she wanted him to do anything like that. Instead he studied her ring, eventually saying, "You don't like diamonds." Emma blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"You told me once that diamonds were overpriced rocks and if you were going to spend money on something to wear it would need to have some color." That… that sounded exactly like something she would say. In fact, it sounded like what she'd wanted to say when Brandon had proposed to her. She'd just pacified herself with the thought that they'd go shopping for the actual wedding rings together. That way she wouldn't be stuck with a diamond ring she hadn't cared for in the first place.

"All right, Mr. Know-it-all, what kind of stones do I like?" she asked, crossing her arms. Josef smiled mildly at her.

"Your favorites are black pearls and opals."

"If you had proposed to me, what would you have done?" The question slipped out before she could stop it. She was about to tell him to forget it when he dropped to one knee. Emma immediately paled.

"Don't look like that. I'm not going to bite you. Not until I get my fangs back, anyway." He took her hand, tracing small circles on the tender skin between her thumb and index finger. "You drive me mad."

"This is your idea of a proposal?" Emma scoffed, trying to get her hand back.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't interrupt." He looked serious. She decided to hear him out, even if he was being ridiculous. "As I was saying, you drive me mad. The only way I can get you to stop arguing with me sometimes is to kiss you. When you lived with me you had me put labels on my blood so you'd know which blood type was which. You changed most of my house and I liked it better that way because when I walked through the rooms I would see you. Even if you hate diamonds, you have a spine made of them and a heart that is softer than a melted marshmallow. You drive me mad because you make it so easy to love you that everything else just disappears and without you near I don't know how to exist. You became my world." Josef stood up and took Emma's face in his hands. "I will love you for however many lifetimes I live. Please, marry me."

"Okay," she whispered. Then Josef smiled wickedly and Emma remembered where she was. "I mean… I mean, okay, I get it. Not… I wasn't agreeing or anything like that."

"Why not?" he asked. "We make a fascinating couple and we both know the sex would be mind-blowing." Emma blushed but didn't back down.

"One good reason would be that I'm getting married to someone else."

"Brandon is always getting in the way. Maybe I should just have him killed." She glared at him and Josef smiled. "I was joking. Sort of."

"It was a bad joke," she snapped. At his unrepentant look, Emma groaned and turned away. "I only came to take a look around and see if anything was familiar. I wasn't going to argue with you. I wasn't even going to pay much attention to you."

"You wouldn't have managed that," Josef told her. His eyes skimmed over the purple t-shirt and jeans hugging her body. "On the topic of remembering, maybe I could lend a hand." He slid his arms around her waist, slipping his hands under her shirt. "Or even two hands."

"Josef, don't," she protested. He undid the snap on her jeans, lowered the zipper and she knew she was in serious trouble. "Josef, we can't do this."

"Give me one good reason," he told her, running his lips gently up and down her neck. "And I warn you, it had better be excellent."

"I don't want to cheat on Brandon. He deserves better than that." Josef sighed deeply and turned her around to face him.

"Emma, did it ever occur to you that you're cheating on me with Brandon instead of the other way around?"

"W-what?" she sputtered, eyes widening.

"He's the other man," Josef said. He backed her up against his desk, pinning her to the edge with his body. "As the wronged party, I think you should make it up to me."

"You are absolutely impossible," Emma whispered. He smiled.

"You've said that before." Slowly and deliberately, Josef slid his hand down her body. "Care to remember why?"


	15. The Nearness of Disaster

Chapter Fourteen: The Nearness of Disaster

The final master rescue plan that Mick and Andy settled on was not without its flaws. Susie had given them a rough blueprint of Naomi's club. They knew where Mona was being kept but they didn't know what sort of guard was posted, if any. Susie hadn't had that information. She'd explained that they could blend in the best at eleven o'clock. That was when the crowds really flooded the place. So, armed with vague directions and a fairly unspecific outline of the club, Mick and Andy set off.

Trusting the foggy memory of a teenager was not what Andy considered the plan's biggest flaw. No, the biggest flaw involved what she had to wear in order to be 'undercover'. What cover? The only cover she had was a thigh-length coat. Her clothes made her feel like she should be hanging out on Hollywood Boulevard and asking various men if they needed a date. Of course, Susie said the look was cool. The only thing cool about a black skirt shorter than her jacket was the temperature. Miniskirts were not her style and never would be. The gold sequin halter-top with no back except a few bits of string wasn't exactly her style, either, but it was considerably better than what Susie had thought would help her blend in.

"It's what girls wear to go clubbing," she'd told her repeatedly. Andy had given the kid a break since she looked like a china doll that would crack with too much handling. However, that meant she had excess sarcasm stored up and only Mick to unleash it upon. Needless to say, after their rather stormy reconciliation, Andy was trying to avoid mouthing off.

"Remember," Mick was saying, driving slower than Andy liked and concentrating on the road, "we do not split up for any reason. You will not run off and play hero."

"Don't worry, I can't run in heels anyway," she muttered, staring out the window. Mick glanced at her then breathed in her scent. The make-up smelled odd on her skin. Underneath that he could smell the gradual healing of her split lip. There was something wrong with her leg. It was healing but if he concentrated, Mick could feel cold air around the area.

"What's happening to your leg?" She looked at him with surprise.

"You can smell…? Oh, of course you can. Why am I even surprised?" Andy sighed. "The wound will close but the skin there will always be discolored."

"There's no way to get rid of that?" he asked.

"We could amputate the leg," she told him. "I'm not really that bothered by a scar, no matter how repulsive." Mick nodded. A scarred leg was better than no leg at all. "All right, so we head into the club, see what's what, then sneak off to get Mona? Is that basically the plan in a nutshell?"

"A very small nutshell," Mick commented.

"It's not a very complex plan." They pulled to a stop then got out of the car. Susie had been right. The large white building was pretty hard to miss. Apparently they were just in time because people were gathered outside the club, waiting for admission. Andy reluctantly shed her coat and crept past security with Mick. She could already rap music blasting through the walls. It hurt her ears so it had to have been ten times worse for Mick. He seemed pretty adept at tuning it out as he scanned the crowds.

"I don't see Naomi."

"How about a boy with a black eye named Patrick?" Andy inquired, only a little bit hopeful.

"No." He looked at her. "Which is a good thing. We don't want to be recognized and attacked." She nodded reluctantly.

"I know. I just sort of wanted to pop up behind him and say boo." She had to give Naomi credit. The witch knew how to run a successful club. It was packed. The dance floor, which was in a sort of pit that could only be reached by a short set of stairs, was full of people tightly pressed together like sardines. Andy could pick out several dark alcoves where couples could get into a more horizontal position and a long bar at the side of the room. Every visible surface was white.

"Wouldn't the authorities bust Naomi for serving alcohol to minors?" Mick asked her. Andy rolled her eyes.

"Sure she would, if they knew about it." He raised a brow. "How can I put this? It's a club that cannot be found except by those who already know where it is." At Mick's blank stare, Andy sighed. "Did you not watch _Pirates of the Caribbean_?"

"I didn't memorize it," he replied.

"Fine. The club is magically protected." Mick nodded, leading Andy to one of the dark, secluded corners where people were left alone to conduct their own affairs. She felt more comfortable out of sight and it would lessen the chance of someone noticing them. Mick had started talking to her when she felt power brush past the back of her neck, making her hair stand on end. Andy's gaze swung back toward the crowd and she searched each face.

"What is it?" Mick asked, leaning closer to see what she'd found. Andy stilled as silver hair and pale blue eyes filled her vision. Beneath flesh-toned make-up, her tattoo warmed in response to the aura of power.

"Naomi," she bit out harshly. Mick fastened a hand on her arm when she made to stand up.

"Don't even think about it. You can't go after her here."

"Here seems as good a place as any," Andy muttered, straining a little against Mick's grasp. She knew he was right. She just wished he wasn't. His grip didn't loosen getting her feet to move correctly in high-heeled shoes which was probably why she toppled backward and banged her thigh on the table's edge. Mick covered her mouth before she could let out an indignant shriek of pain. Her wound was throbbing badly and she attributed what she did next to the instincts of an animal in pain. She bit him. Andy got a chunk of Mick's skin in her mouth and bit down hard.

He snarled, jerking his hand back and wrapping it around her throat instead. His fingers pressed against the mark on her neck. There was no bandage separating his touch from her skin since Susie said it would look bad. Andy wished she'd told Susie to go to hell. A power hot as fire burned through her neck and into her veins, coursing throughout her body.

"Never bite me," he whispered against her ear. Mick's instincts were too strong to keep him from doing this. Biting between vampires was a sign of dominance or intense passion during sex. Andy hadn't bitten him for the latter reason and the vampire in Mick wasn't about to let his food claim dominance over him.

"Sorry." It was the only word she could manage. With her senses on overload and Mick's fangs scraping the sensitive place just below her ear, Andy was having a hard time communicating. She doubted that a mere word was going to do the trick. How did one apologize to a vampire for violating an important code of conduct, anyway? It probably had something to do with blood. Too bad they weren't in a position for a feeding since she had no bandages on hand and she couldn't afford to lose more blood. She had a feeling she'd pushed her body's endurance for that kind of thing already what with feeding Mick then getting stabbed.

What were her options, then? She couldn't take what he was doing to her much longer before she started begging for mercy. That lacked a certain dignity. The only other idea she had wasn't much more appealing. Andy went with it anyway, using her teeth to open up her wounded lip. The bitter taste of lipstick, quickly follow by blood, made her want to wash her mouth out. Unfortunately she didn't have a chance before Mick's head descended and he slowly began to suck at her bottom lip.

A mantra of _not good, not good, not good_ filled her head while her pulse skyrocketed. This guy had a girlfriend. Okay, so the relationship was on the rocks but Andy was supposed to be fixing that. She was not supposed to be experiencing the second kiss of her life in a dark corner. _It's not a kiss_, she told herself. _It's an apology_. A smartass voice in her head commented that she wouldn't mind being sorry every day of the week. The saner, responsible voice told her to shut up. Andy had too many battles going on to start one with herself.

"Andy," Mick said when he pulled back, the guilt vivid in his eyes. She cursed mentally.

"Don't apologize," she told him before he could get a word in edgewise. "Don't start thinking you're a monster because you're not. It was just a series of misunderstandings mixed with some very powerful instincts. We're both fine. Now, I'm going to go the bathroom to fix my lipstick. I promise I won't get into trouble. Stay put and don't brood." Andy slipped away and hurried into the crowd.

Maybe she wasn't fine. Maybe she needed to be away from him so she could breathe and regroup. Whatever she needed didn't really matter since she wouldn't be reaching the bathroom that night.

"You shouldn't go in there. You'll misstep and crack your head on the tile." Andy twisted around, staring at the slender blonde girl who had just spoken. Immediately their eyes connected and the breath caught in her throat. Mona's warm blue eyes stared up at her but the face was not her sister's. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out," she said, assuming the shock on Andy's face was due to something she'd told her.

"You didn't. Have you always been gifted with sight?" she asked quickly, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"No," the girl replied with a friendly smile. "I was blind since birth but then Naomi fixed it. The weird thing is I've been seeing visions, too. Naomi says it's just part of it."

"Naomi would know," Andy murmured. Then she found it. A delicate crystal hanging from the girl's neck. It sparkled blue, magic swirling within the stone. Her sister's vision was being kept inside and this teenager was using it as her own. Andy wondered if Naomi had bought anyone else's allegiance with stolen gifts. "Could I talk to you in private for a minute? My sister is blind and I'd like to know about your experience."

"Sure, no problem," the girl said, eagerly going with her. Andy led her through the door Susie had identified as the way to the living quarters and Mona's prison.

"First of all," Andy said, turning to look at her once they were out of sight. "I'm really sorry." She banged the kid's head against the wall, knocking her unconscious. Without hesitating she slid the necklace over the girl's head and put it around her own neck. Her eyesight doubled, everything becoming freakishly detailed and clear. Seeing as she didn't have any pockets, Andy was going to have to suffer through abnormally perfect eyesight until she returned it to Mona.

Mick was going to kill her. Andy thought about that while she hurried up the stairs to the second floor. It wasn't as if she'd wanted to run off without him. She just didn't have time to go back and get his help. Mona had her sister's eyes and there was no way that girl was going to calmly accept the fact that she was blind again. Andy had a limited amount of time before the alarm was sounded. She was going to use that time to rescue Mona and get her out of this adolescent-infested pit.

"Andy!" She jolted, backing up a few steps and looking down the stairs at an annoyed Mick. "What did I say about splitting up?"

"I didn't hate time to text you an update." He glanced at the unconscious girl on the floor then back up at her. "Long story. Come on, we've got to get going." Mick leapt, neatly landing by her side in a very short second. She raised a brow. "Goddess forbid that vampires ever get involved in professional basketball. We wouldn't stand a chance." They went through the halls, looking for the black door by the window Susie had described.

"I smell something." Mick pulled Andy to a halt and breathed in, trying to place the scent with a memory. "Lavender."

"Mona," she whispered.

_"Andy," she murmured, one blind eye opening. The other was swollen shut. Even through the pain, Mona smiled. "About time you got here." _

"Andy," Mick said, waving a hand in front of her face. Andy blinked and fell back a step.

"I know where she is." The witch took off, rounding another corner and nearly clawing the black door's hinges off. "Mona!" she shouted through the door. Mick pulled her away from the door then knocked it down with a single blow. That was probably more practical than Andy trying to break in with her shoulder.

"You didn't have to shout," Mona pointed out from her place on the floor, both wrists chained to the wall. "I heard you the first time." She didn't look nearly as broken and bruised as Andy had expected, which didn't disappoint her at all. The only really strange thing was the small puncture wound on her sister's arm.

"What happened there?" she asked, kneeling beside Mona while Mick tore the chains out of the wall.

"Blood transfusions. They had to get the poison out of my system that I took from you. It didn't please Naomi to have to do something nice for me but she didn't want me dead."

"You should have let me deal with that," Andy told her, pulling Mona's arm around her shoulders and helping her up.

"We're going to have company soon," Mick interrupted. "Could we move the reunion to somewhere we won't be attacked?"

"Good plan," Mona told him. The three of them exited the room only to be confronted by four boys. One of them immediately recognized Andy.

"You're alive," Patrick growled, starting to move forward. Before Mick could react she held out her hand warningly, a tiny spark dancing from finger to finger.

"You'd best stay away before I blind that eye instead of just blackening it." He wasn't thrilled but he didn't plan on trying her. The boy with the shotgun, however, was feeling much more confidant.

"Get back in that room and maybe you'll live through the night." Mick stepped in front of the girls and bared his fangs. The kid started to sweat but his hands didn't waver. "It's loaded with silver so don't do anything stupid." Mick didn't care for the prospect of having more silver fired into his body but he liked the witches being threatened even less. Andy glanced from one boyish face to another, seeing the willingness to die in each of their eyes. Naomi had seriously messed with their heads. Then she glanced at Mona.

"Sorry, but we need a distraction." Before Mona could ask what she meant, Andy pressed the crystal into her sister's hand. There was a quick flash of light. Mona was shoved into the wall and color seeped back into her eyes.

"Hecate, I can see," she whispered, overwhelmed for a brief moment. Then she saw chaos erupt before it actually did and grabbed her sister's arm. "Move!" The two of them ran, holes appearing in the wall where their heads had so recently been. Andy didn't hesitate to follow her sister, even when she led them straight to the window.

"Here we go." She shoved her will towards the glass, causing it to crumble to pieces before they actually jumped through it. Then they had several feet to fall to the ground below. "Light as a feather, stiff as a board!" she shrieked. They stopped inches from the ground.

"It's been, what, twelve years since we've done that?" Mona asked, letting out a relieved giggle.

"Yeah. Thank Goddess it still works." They plopped gently onto the ground. The elder witch turned to her sister.

"Why did you apologize? That was fantastic."

"I was shoving your vision at you without warning," Andy explained, still a little uncomfortable about using her sister as a distraction. Mona just smiled.

"You can do that any time." She reached out and gently touched Andy's cheek. "It's been months since I've seen this face. Honestly, it's worse than I remember." Andy slapped her hand, laughing. Her laughter immediately stopped when she realized they were missing someone.

"Mick!" She jumped to her feet, staring up at the window. "Shit, he's still up there. Mick!" The vampire came hurtling out of the window, landing with far less fuss than the witches had.

"You called?" he joked then immediately winced. "Damn, those kids hit me with something."

"If I have to pull another silver bullet out of you…" Andy began but her breath got stuck in her throat when she saw the athame plunged into Mick's back. "Mona, help me get his coat off."

"What is it?" Mick asked. Something unnaturally cold was spreading across his back. It was colder than his freezer. Colder than he would ever want to be.

"An athame." She met her sister's eyes. Both of them waited for one second then Andy pulled out the blade and Mona quickly tugged off Mick's coat. Vampires healed fast and Andy needed to get at his wound before it closed over. She widened the hole in his shirt then sealed her mouth over the wound. Mick's entire body jerked and she had to tighten her grip on his arms to keep from being thrown off.

"Get off," he snarled, eyes gone white.

"She has to get the poison out before it spread throughout your system," Mona told him rationally, speaking to the man she knew was just behind the creature of instinct vibrating with restrained strength. "It's protection." Mick's tense body relaxed an inch at a time. Andy spat out the mouthful of contaminated blood she'd managed to get then turned back to the wound. It was already closing. Panicked, she dug her teeth into his skin, keeping it open. Andy drew out more blood.

Mick had to quickly rationalize to his dark side why he was letting someone smaller and weaker take his blood. The only thing that came to mind was that he was turning her, which didn't make sense because Andy was not near death. _I'm giving it to her._ The idea of sharing, for some reason, made sense to his 'inner vamp'. Its protests were immediately silenced.

Andy took in a mouthful of blood and realized this one was clean. She was done. Then the taste of it sank into her tongue. Vampire blood was a lot different from human blood. Her blood has always had a bitter, metallic taste. Mick's blood was spicy and cool. She was about to spit it out when, assuming Andy had finished, Mick turned to look at her. Her damned high heels got her into trouble once again. She let go of his arms but wasn't ready to support herself. Andy stumbled and her throat muscles did what they considered perfectly natural to do. They swallowed.

"Ack!" Mick took one look at the horrified expression on her face and the hand clutching her throat and knew something bad had happened.

"Did you swallow some of my blood?" he demanded. She glared at him.

"It wasn't as if I wanted to. Drinking blood is your habit, not mine." Mona stepped in before the inevitable argument ensued.

"How about we put this on hold? I, for one, would like to get away from here." She turned away from then and hurried towards the mouth of the alley behind Naomi's club. Mona knew Andy and Mick had a much deeper problem now but it was one that could wait for at least the time it took to drive to Mick's apartment. She got the keys out of Mick's jacket pocket and smiled. With her vision back, Mona had every intention of driving.

She also had every intention of cornering Naomi, shredding her protective magic and watching as years of magical backlash ate the sight-and-immortality-stealing witch alive.


	16. The Solid Proof

Chapter Fifteen: The Solid Proof

Emma shivered and nuzzled a little closer to the body next to her. It was cool in Josef's office, especially without clothes. The gears in her head started turning. She was naked and curled up with someone in Josef's office. The logical conclusion to these facts was… She opened her eyes and stared at the pale skin of Josef's chest. Emma closed her eyes. Then she opened them again. Nothing had changed. She swallowed hard.

This did not necessarily mean they'd had sex. Even if she did have some vivid memories of screaming his name, even if she was sore in places that hadn't been sore in a very long time…

"Christ," she muttered, squeezing her eyes shut. There was no getting around it. All Josef had to do was touch her and she was ready to jump him. Instantly, intensely ready. Emma pulled out of his arms and tried not to think about how sweet his face looked. She needed to get her clothes.

Emma tiptoed around the couch, careful about making any loud noises that might wake Josef. She cringed when she spotted her underwear behind the couch and quickly slid into them. It was stupid but she immediately felt better with that little bit of coverage than nothing at all. The rest of her clothes were fairly easy to find although they certainly were spread out. How in the hell had her socks landed on opposite sides of the room? She shook her head as she quickly laced up her sneakers. Some things were better not to think about.

A few of those things she shouldn't be thinking about wouldn't get out of her head. Josef playfully biting her hip, for one. Clearing his desk so he could push her onto it and… She cleared her throat. The worst part was she didn't feel like she could walk out of his office and never want to do this again. In fact, she wanted to make it a daily event although she probably wouldn't be able to survive what they'd done on a daily basis. Making love to Josef had started out hot and desperate, like two people who'd been deprived of water for too long. Eventually they'd slowed down, taken their time. Emma was pretty sure they'd spent a solid hour just kissing each other.

No wonder she'd fallen in love with him.

She went still, her shirt nearly falling out of her hands. She meant that it wasn't unreasonable to believe she'd fallen in love with him _before_ the accident. Emma wasn't in love with him now. Not at all. Not even a little. She glanced down at her palm, the memory of his lips vividly imprinted there. Well, maybe she felt more than nothing. "Focus," she told herself. Emma pulled her shirt on, checked her pocket for her car keys then hurried for the door.

_Brandon's ring!_ She skidded to a halt, looking down at her left hand. Nope, no ring there. Emma could not leave it in Josef's office. It would be humiliating and show absolutely no respect for Brandon. She already felt like a scarlet letter should be stitched into her clothes.

Josef had said Brandon was the other man. Emma snorted, looking around his desk for some hint of a glimmer. Brandon was still the only man she could clearly remember. That made him man number one in her book. Maybe she should just have the two of them meet at sunrise for a duel. At least it would take the choice out of her hands.

She paused and glared at herself in the reflection of the window. What choice? There wasn't a choice here. She'd committed herself to Brandon. Emma did her best to honor her commitments. Sleeping with Josef had been a tremendous mistake that she would definitely not repeat again.

Unless, of course, he touched her. Then all good intentions went out the window.

"Emma," Josef said, his voice coming from behind the couch where Emma assumed he was still lounging. "It's two in the morning. Why don't you just stay here for the rest of the night?"

"I'm leaving while I can still think clearly," she told him firmly. Then she sighed. "Do you know where my engagement ring went?"

"Possibly." Emma frowned. She couldn't see his face but she would bet any amount of money that he was grinning.

"Would you tell me if you did?"

"That would depend on what you offered in return." Emma rounded the couch. It probably wasn't a good idea since Josef had no problems being naked in front of her and definitely wasn't covered up. Her eyes flicked down then immediately back up to his face. She didn't need to look anywhere else. At all.

"You can't be serious." Josef smirked.

"Serious as a heart attack, sweetheart." His eyes skimmed over her and she wondered why she'd bothered putting on clothes when he made her feel naked anyway.

"Fine," she muttered, attempting to run her fingers through her hair. Unfortunately it was too tangled by all the action that had gone on yesterday. The prospect of working through the knots put her in a bad mood. "What do you want?"

"Another three hours of your time," Josef told her, coming to his feet. Emma took an automatic step back. He was a lot more imposing when he wasn't horizontal.

"Only if you promise not to try to get me back on the floor," she insisted. Emma could use another few hours of sleep but she'd wanted it a safe distance away from Josef. It looked like that wasn't an option if she wanted her ring back.

"All right," Josef agreed reluctantly. "But you're free to change your mind about it." Emma rolled her eyes and held out her hand.

"The ring, Josef." He sighed then went to get it from where he remembered it skidding across the floor. Emma looked away from the temptation he posed and looked at the art instead. Josef had good taste. He definitely went for color, if the mural on the ceiling was anything to go by. She glanced at one of the sculptures then immediately smiled. It was clay. She loved clay. Emma moved to look at it more closely.

It was really impressive work. A woman in a long dress with her legs tucked beneath her stared at whoever happened to be looking at her with a very self-satisfied expression. Satisfaction and just a pinch of amusement. Her hand was cradling something against her heart. Emma leaned closer and realized it was a bat, painstakingly detailed. "Cute," she murmured.

"You like it, then?" Emma looked over her shoulder at Josef. She was relieved to see he'd put his pants on. At least she told herself she was.

"It's good work."

"Most of your work is," he noted, holding her engagement ring out to her. Emma didn't even look at it. Her eyes were fixed on his face.

"I made this?" Josef nodded. He waited, hoping that maybe this would be what triggered her memory. Instead she ran for the door. "I need to go."

"What?" He was too surprised to stop her from going. Her head popped around the corner and she smiled apologetically.

"I'll make it up to you. Hold onto that ring for me." Emma was itching with the need to run while she waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor. That sculpture in Josef's office gave her something concrete to chase after. There would be sketches of it in one of her many books. There would be information about the other piece he'd bought from her. She could check that and see if it was real.

She shot out of the building at a dead run. Emma had nearly reached her car when her she put too much weight on her ankle and fell, scraping her arm on the asphalt. No blood welled up and she'd only lost some skin. Still, the sensation of hitting the street, the pain in her arm, triggered something in her memory. Sounds and bright lights, flying and crashing through something hard. _"Christ, Naomi, what did you do?" _

For once she didn't hear Josef's voice. Instead, this memory carried with it the sound of the other man in her life. Brandon. Brandon saying Naomi's name. He knew something. He knew something and he hadn't told her. What else hadn't he shared with her?

Emma didn't waste any more time thinking about it. She shamelessly broke the speed limit on her way to the café, parked out front and then quickly unlocked the door. Something had possessed her. A strong, irresistible need to find out why a part of her life was missing. She skidded into her workroom and immediately dove into her cabinets. There were stacks of sketchbooks in the lower right cabinets. Emma usually went through one each month, although not all of her ideas made it off of the paper.

Why hadn't she thought of this before? Emma scowled as she flipped through the sketchbooks, checking the dates. She probably hadn't thought whatever she'd been working on would be important. Who she had and hadn't delivered art to wouldn't have mattered, either.

After twenty minutes of checking and then double-checking, Emma had to bite her lip to keep from screaming. November and December were missing. The months she needed were inexplicably gone. She glanced suspiciously at her filing cabinet. Why was she so sure that any documents with Josef Kostan's name on them would be missing? Emma reached into her canvas bag, which she'd left here during the afternoon. She thought she was going to return to the café before the wee hours of the morning. Then plans had changed. Emma got out her cell phone and flipped it open.

While the phone was ringing, she wondered what time it was in Belgium. She didn't know and, to be honest, she didn't give a damn. After three rings Brandon finally picked up.

"It's about time you called. I've been worried. Didn't you get any of my messages?" Emma glared intently at the phone. He'd been keeping information from her and he had the nerve to sound chastising.

"Where are my sketchbooks from November and December?" The phone went silent. To Emma, the silence in itself was a condemnation.

"They probably were in your house when it burned down. Why does it matter, Emma?"

"My house burned down in November, Brandon," she snapped. "That leaves December unaccounted for. What did you do with it?"

"What did I do with it? Why would I do anything with one of your sketchbooks, Emma?"

"It's gone missing and I seriously doubt it just stood up and walked away. I want to know where it went," she bit out harshly. Brandon's voice was shocked and uncertain. Emma wondered briefly if she was being a little unreasonable. Then she thought about the sound of his voice saying Naomi's name and her temper roared to life again.

"Why don't you ask Ellen where it went? Maybe she moved it."

"Why the hell would Ellen move something in my workroom?" she snapped at him.

"Well, why would I?" he retorted. "Why are you jumping down my throat? Did something happen to you since I left?" Emma had to fight the burst of hysterical laughter that wanted to escape her mouth. Did something happen? Too many things had happened for her to keep track of.

"Who's Naomi, Brandon?" His end of the line went silent again and Emma's skin felt suddenly cold. He really did know who she was. The name that made her blood turn to ice belonged to a living, breathing person that Brandon knew.

"I'm getting on the next plane to L.A.," he told her and she could make out the sounds of drawers being opened. "Stay at home. Don't let anyone inside, okay?"

"Why the emergency precautions, Brandon? Did she do something to me that I should remember?" Emma asked him, hoping that he would be honest with her.

"Please, Emma, I don't have enough time to explain. Just do what I said, okay?" He was quiet for a minute then, timidly, he asked, "Has anyone named Josef come around?" It was Emma's turn to be silent. There was a story here she didn't know. Josef and Brandon knew something she could only guess at. It was beginning to drive her mad.

"Why? Is he dangerous, too?"

"I love you, Emma. I'm trying to protect you." Emma softened a little at the desperate pleading in Brandon's voice. "Josef leaves a trail of destruction in his wake. He came into your life once and it took everything I had to try to make it right again." She collapsed onto a nearby stool, her heart beating loudly in her chest.

"What do you mean?" she whispered.

"He's the reason you were in that car wreck, Emma. You cannot let him back into your life." She didn't argue. She quickly said goodbye and hung up the phone. After a tense second she ran for the bathroom.

Emma had a sudden urge to vomit.


	17. The River in Egypt

Chapter Sixteen: The River in Egypt

Andy studied her healed lip in the mirror. Vampire blood was a funny thing. It was like a virus that infected human blood and converted that person into something very different. However, the process depended on the lack of human blood. To be turned, a mortal person had to lose a lot of blood. Apparently vampire blood just wasn't strong enough to take hold of a healthy person. As for Andy, she had a reason to worry.

For one thing, her lip shouldn't have healed by now. She hadn't treated it with anything. In fact, she'd recently opened the wound. And now a little over five hours after she'd mistakenly swallowed a mouthful of Mick's blood, her lip was flawless. Andy had taken a look at her leg and the wound had sealed there as well. The only irreparable mark of the athame was a slender black line that ran down the side of her thigh. It was far too neat for the amount of ripping she'd done to get the athame out in the first place.

"Fantastic," she mumbled sarcastically, continuing to run her thumb over her bottom lip. Andy hadn't been running on a full tank of blood when she'd taken in that dose of vampire essence. It could be that even now her body was fighting a battle against a virus intent on changing her from human into something that lasted a lot longer. She didn't think there'd been a lot of research on the subject of someone with moderate blood loss being infected with vampire blood. Who would risk it? Andy sure as hell wouldn't although now she didn't have much of a choice.

The wisest thing to do would be to go to the hospital and see about getting some blood transfusions. Add more human to the balance. Whether that would work or not, Andy really didn't have the time to find out. Naomi wasn't going to shrug and say, 'oh well' when she found out about Mona's rescue. There would be consequences.

Andy tugged her baseball cap a little lower over her forehead then headed to the door. She was hungry and she was tired. Mentally she promised herself a few hours rest after getting some errands out of the way. Besides, Andy felt a little too warm to sleep on the couch. Maybe she should ask Mick about better air conditioning. She glanced over at her sister peacefully curled up on the couch, deeply asleep. Mona deserved the rest.

Without another look back, Andy headed out. She wasn't going to borrow Mick's car, just in case her perpetual bad luck followed her onto the road. Instead she used public transportation, settling herself down on the bus and keeping track of the streets going by. First she needed supplies then she could stop at BuzzWire. Andy let out a tired sigh and moved her loose polo shirt back and forth to generate some cool air against her skin. Maybe she should have worn jean shorts after all. It was warmer than she'd expected.

Two hours later she felt worse. Andy had gotten her shopping done but every second in the sunlight made her vaguely nauseous. She pushed up the cheap pair of sunglasses she'd bought in one of the stores she'd gone by. It was better for her eyes anyway. Andy told herself it wasn't because her vision had sharpened a little more during the last two hours and natural light was painful. Perhaps it was time to admit she was in trouble and get help.

The bus pulled to a stop and Andy hurried out. Just one more task to get done, then she'd call it a day. She would eat a full meal, drink a lot of water and try sleeping. But sleep where? She was pretty sure Mick only had one freezer and… "I do not need a freezer," she hissed at herself, violently cutting off that train of thought. For Goddess's sake, all the signs pointing straight at vampirism were probably temporary. A momentary loss of humanity while her body deal with the alien substance. Once all her chemicals and whatever balanced out she wouldn't need to worry. She was overreacting.

"Beth Turner? She's in the cubicle over there," one of the industrious workers at BuzzWire said in response to her question. He apparently didn't have time to be friendly as he immediately zoomed off to do something more interesting. Andy spotted Beth's luxurious blonde hair immediately. Having rather flat, uninteresting hair, she couldn't help but feel a touch of hair envy.

"Morning, Beth," Andy said quietly, pulling up a rolling chair so she could sit next to her. Beth looked up in surprise. In BuzzWire's modern building of concrete floors and steel pillars, Beth really hadn't expected a witch to visit her. Although, to be honest, Andy didn't look much like a witch in wrinkled jeans and scuffed boots.

"Hey, Andy. Did Mick tell you where I worked?" She hoped she was being subtle in her quest for information about Mick. Even if they weren't as close as they had been, as they could have been, she cared about him.

"No, the address was in the phonebook." Andy smiled a little, not completely dumb to Beth's real intentions. "Mick's fine. He got stabbed last night but it's healed."

"Stabbed? What was going on?" Andy bit back a sigh. First she went to a private investigator for help and now a reporter. She should try finding someone who didn't make a living of asking questions.

"Mona was kidnapped and we had to rescue her. Violence ensued." The curiosity in Beth's eyes had not faded so Andy gave her a slightly more detailed summary of events. She did not, however, mention anything to Beth about exchanging blood with Mick. Some things even she was too tactful to bring up.

"You had a busy night," Beth noted once Andy had finished. "So what brings you to BuzzWire?"

"A potentially juicy story," Andy said with a sly grin. "Has anyone identified the dead body found the other day?"

"Not yet," Beth said, an excited gleam in her eyes. "Are you about to?"

"He was the brother of Susie DuBois. I didn't catch his first name but it wouldn't take more than a phone call to find that out. However, that isn't the juicy bit. The really interesting part of all this is that he frequented a club that a lot of runaway teens go to for shelter." The reporter looked as if it was Christmas morning and she'd just gotten a brand new car. Then her excitement faded as a thought occurred to her.

"Wait, if this has to do with Naomi then do you really want it leaked over the internet?"

"I don't recall mentioning anyone named Naomi," Andy said, her eyes wide with pretended innocence. "I don't think I said anything about witchcraft, either. Just a bunch of runaway kids getting together and a homicide connected to their club." Beth grinned, starting to get the hint. Naomi had tried to use the police and media to expose Andy and Mona. Now Andy was turning the tables, shining the very bright light of public attention on Naomi. This was good for Beth professionally and personally. Exposure would increase Andy and Mona's chances of catching Naomi, which would be the best way of getting Emma's memories back. Professionally, this would be good for her reputation and the cops always appreciated it when reporters gave them inside scoops on the crime world.

"Juicy," Beth agreed with a smirk. "Thanks for the tip." Andy felt a twinge of guilt. This was a really nice woman and last night she'd gone and kissed Beth's boyfriend. Okay, so it hadn't exactly happened that way but if she pushed all the supernatural business out of the picture then it was a fairly accurate description. Andy owed her more than a tip on a story.

"This isn't any of my business," she began slowly, trying to right words. "But if Mick got over his 'I hate what I am' attitude, do you think you guys could give it another shot?" Beth's eyes widened with surprise.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well, you're a good person and he's a good person. It's a shame that your relationship has gotten messed up just because he has a drinking problem." Beth smiled weakly.

"You're telling me."

"I mean, Naomi is human and she is considerably more evil than Mick," Andy pointed out. Sure, technically Naomi wasn't 100 percent human but she also wasn't a vampire. She'd made 'witch' into an entirely different species.

"I know!" Beth exclaimed, leaning forward in her chair. "It's as if he thinks being a vampire makes him automatically evil. He talks about his impulses and his instincts and how he can't risk my safety by letting me completely into his life. How will I ever get the chance to see if it will work with him if he won't let me in?"

"My thoughts exactly," Andy said. "So, aside from saving the world and getting your friend's life back on track, what we need to do is get Mick to realize being good doesn't have anything to do with whether he can get a tan or not." Beth frowned slightly.

"Wait, why are you helping me?" Andy winced internally at the question. She really didn't have a good answer for that.

"Not everyone gets their happily ever after. I think you two deserve a shot at it." Beth didn't look entirely convinced. Andy wasn't, either. Why was she interested in getting Beth and Mick back together?

"Did something happen between you guys? I mean, when he bit you?" Beth asked, watching Andy's face closely. The witch shifted uncomfortably.

"It's difficult to explain," she mumbled.

"Okay," Beth replied. "How about you try to and I'll see if I can follow along?" Andy shook her head.

"Seriously, it's difficult to explain. I don't even understand all of what happened. Vampires are like a separate society with rules that are different from our own." She smiled weakly. "You just have to dive in and hope you don't drown." Beth nodded but she wasn't remotely satisfied. It looked like she'd have to do some investigating into Mick's world. That shouldn't be too hard since she was a reporter. It was her job to find answers.

"Thanks for your help… with everything." Andy nodded and stood.

"My pleasure. Come on over to Mick's place if you get any information. In fact, come over anyway. You're a part of all this now." They exchanged knowing smiles then parted ways.

Andy waited patiently at the bus stop, feeling the minutes tick slowly by. The sun was no less cruel and that nauseous feeling was back in full force. She was starting to wonder if maybe she should just get a cab instead. Standing here waiting wasn't going terribly well. The plastic bag over in her hand felt both too heavy and too light. In fact, the world felt like that. Sounds were too heavy on her ears and the light was too… light. And she was hungry. Intensely hungry. That was pretty reasonable since she hadn't eaten since yesterday evening.

_"Andy?"_ Andy didn't really hear her name. It was only a pull on her identity, her core. She recognized the touch of her sister's power and managed to curve her lips just a little. Mona was up. She must be feeling better, then. The bus finally rolled around the corner and she let out a breath of relief.

Everything was fine until she was within sight of Mick's building. She felt incredibly hot then freezing cold. Andy closed her eyes tightly and leaned against the nearest wall. Too much sunlight, not enough food and rest. Too much, too little, she couldn't stand this world of extremes.

"Andy!"

"Mona," she whispered softly, wrapping her arms tightly around her body. "About time."

"What have you been doing to yourself?" her older sister demanded. The pain emanating from Andy's body stung Mona's skin like needles.

"Apparently pushing a little too hard," she muttered. With Mona's help, Andy managed to drag herself into Mick's apartment. She was deeply grateful when she found that Mick was still dead to the world. The last thing she wanted was him hovering over her.

"It's your blood, isn't it? I was worried you might react badly to the mix but I had no idea you'd go and exhaust yourself." Andy knew she was in for a scolding. She'd earned it. At the same time, she felt she'd paid the price already.

"Please, Mona, could we hold off on the lecture until I put something in my stomach?" she begged. Mona lowered her sister onto the couch and studied her eyes. They were bloodshot. Whether that was a bad thing or not, Mona had no way of knowing.

"Do you want something solid or liquid?"

"Solid," Andy said quickly. "It's not as bad as you think. If I lose anymore blood, I'm screwed but what's happening now is the worst it's going to get." At least, that's what she was telling herself.

With any luck it would turn out that she wasn't completely delusional. But she doubted it.


	18. The Shaky Ground

Chapter Seventeen: The Shaky Ground

When Emma closed up the café, she wasn't sure where she was going to head next. There were a few places she knew she did not want to return to under any circumstances. One of those places was Brandon's house. She didn't trust him anymore. She believed her cared about her and wanted to keep her safe. That didn't excuse the lies. He had held back information about the time she couldn't remember. If her suspicions were correct, he'd hidden her sketchbooks and paperwork, too. While she had scrambled for even the tiniest reminders of what she'd forgotten, Brandon had watched without saying a word. _Bastard_.

She didn't know what to believe anymore. Josef said he loved her. Brandon said he loved her. Both of them were telling the truth. But which one loved her the right way? And what the hell was the right way, anyway?

Emma didn't want to go back to Josef. She couldn't think with him around and she needed desperately to think. According to Brandon, Josef had ruined her life. Well, Emma had never said her life was ruined. It was certainly a mess but ruined it was not. A woman who had had a minimum of six orgasms in the last twenty-four hours couldn't say her life was destroyed.

What she really wanted to know was who was lying and who was telling the truth. The fact that Brandon knew who Naomi was, that he immediately decided to hop on a plane when she mentioned her name, made Emma want to strangle him. He knew so much and he hadn't freaking shared any of it with her! She begged for information and he gave her medication.

_Oh, my God_.

The thought that had just sunk into her brain made her blood turn to ice. The medicine she took for her headaches… Headaches that usually coincided with her remembering some vivid detail of her life… Emma viciously shook her head. No. No, no, no. There was no way Brandon would do that to her. He was a sweet, sensitive photographer. He did not drug people he claimed to love. She couldn't believe it.

All this speculation was getting her nowhere. She needed real answers from someone she could trust. Or at least someone with a relatively objective point of view. Making up her mind, Emma got into her car and plugged the address Andy had given her for emergencies into the GPS system. It locked onto the location with a triumphant ping. Emma forced herself to obey the speed limit, carefully following the directions the automated voice was parroting at her.

Emma might have rethought her destination if she knew what was happening in Mick's apartment. Mona hadn't wanted to give her sister the solid food Mick kept out to fool the casual observer into thinking a human lived there. She'd had a hunch that it wouldn't stay down and it didn't. Barely three minutes after eating Andy had flown to the bathroom to get rid of it all. The word 'flown' was very nearly accurate. Mona had never seen her sister move that fast and it shot fear into her heart.

They hadn't spoken after that. Andy had slowly crawled down the stairs then collapsed on the couch. Mona had silently felt her sister's forehead. She didn't need a thermometer to know Andy was burning up. What she didn't know was if that was a good sign or not. She knew she should wake up Mick. But what could he do? Taking her to the hospital was out of the question since at least half of her blood was inhuman and all Mick could do was speed up the process of turning. Neither of them knew if they wanted that. Mona and Andy had always been a team. A strange team, but a team nonetheless. If Andy became a vampire then a barrier would rise between the two sisters where there never had been one before. Mona might even lose her sister entirely to a world she was barely familiar with. So she didn't wake up Mick and Andy eventually surrendered to exhaustion.

Mona filled up her day with little things, distractions. She unconsciously made a niche for themselves in Mick's life by putting the supplies Andy had gotten into his drawers. When she pulled out the stash of mugwort, Mona smiled. Andy knew it would be good for her sister's very swollen eye. Once she was done organizing, she carefully applied it. Her injuries would not heal immediately but the herbs would help.

After she ran out of busy work Mona got out one of the fresh white candles Andy had purchased, pressed a flaming match to its wick then sat beside it and concentrated on the steady light until she fell into a deep meditative state. And she prayed. Mona prayed to her God, her Goddess and begged for her mother to watch over Andy. It should have been her job to suck out the poison from Mick's body. She had not lost more than a teaspoon of blood while Andy had been on the edge of going into shock, although she hadn't acknowledged it. Andy had never paid attention to the weakness in her own body. She just pushed herself to the edge and fought to stay standing.

Would she care if Andy turned into a vampire? Not in the least. She had no problems with vampires at all. The trouble was that it would change their lives completely. The timing of it all was awful. There was Naomi to deal with and her clan of adolescent underlings. There was Josef's immortality to return and Emma's memory to restore.

Then there was Mick St. John. Would he make a capable sire or would he afflict Andy with his self-hatred? Mona wanted to believe that Mick would put aside his conflicts and do right by her sister if the situation called for it. She also wanted to believe that Mick would let Beth into his life and be willing to share all of himself with her. Only time would tell if her hopes were foolish. Only time would tell if she needed to worry about her sister's future as a fledgling vampire.

"Mona!" Someone was shaking her shoulders. "Mona!" She gradually opened her eyes and stared up at Mick's distressed expression. "How long has Andy been like this?" Mona gently pushed his hands away and stood up to see exactly what he meant. At some point, her sister had begun to tremble in her sleep. A fine layer of sweat covered her skin and Mona could feel the pain of Andy's straining heart beating within her own chest.

"Hours," she replied softly. Hours had to have passed. The light had changed in the rooms, making her think it was near sunset. Mick let out a frustrated growl.

"Why didn't you wake me?" he demanded. Mona looked at him with calm eyes.

"What would you have done?" Mick didn't have an answer to that. Instead of responding, he went to Andy's side and gently roused her.

"Come on, Andy, open your eyes for me." Her eyes, still human and deep blue, opened in slits. She glared at him darkly.

"I need to stop trying to help you," she muttered, her voice tired and strained. "I always get screwed over." Mick smiled weakly.

"How do you feel?"

"Like the living dead," Andy replied flatly. At his stern expression, she rolled her eyes. "I've felt much better, I'll tell you that."

"Do you feel any better after sleeping?" Mona asked, coming up behind Mick's kneeling body. She shrugged.

"A little." Andy noticed her hands trembling and quickly balled them into fists, making it less obvious. Someone would have spoken, suggested something even if it was useless. However, Emma chose that time to knock on Mick's door. Mick could smell Emma immediately but Mona was curious as to who was there. Andy frowned, rubbing her nose. "Does anyone else smell clay?" Mona closed her eyes tightly for a moment before going to answer the door. This was nightmarish.

"Hello, Emma," she murmured, opening the door. Emma was about to speak when she noticed that Mona's eyes actually had color.

"Did you get your sight back?" The witch nodded.

"Andy retrieved it for me." Emma immediately thought of Josef, even if she was trying not to care.

"Did she find…?"

"No, she didn't," Mona told her, knowing exactly where her thoughts had gone by the emotion on her face. "That will be a lot harder to get back." She tilted her head and smiled gently. "But that isn't why you came here to talk to me, is it?" Emma debated whether or not to ask how Mona knew that and eventually decided against it. There didn't seem much point.

"Could I possibly speak to you out here?" Emma asked her, backing a few steps away from the door. She'd seen a little of Mick's apartment and the dark floors and cream sofa and chairs were very familiar. For once, she'd like to be somewhere that didn't reek of memories she didn't have. Mona went along with her, closing the door gently.

"Now, what exactly did you want to ask?" Emma took a deep breath then began to let her thoughts spill out.

"I've never really believed in psychics but you seem to know what you're doing and I know you're a witch, not a psychic but it's all in the same supernatural category. The thing is I seriously don't have anyone to talk to about this who doesn't know more than I know about my own life. I mean, you know more but you didn't experience it like my friends have. They've told me this intricate story I'm supposed to believe and I'm not sure if I want to. I don't know whom to trust. I always trusted Brandon but it turns out he's known a thousand times more than he's let on. Then Josef gets under my skin and I want to just crawl into his bed and stay there until the rest of the world disappears."

"Andy described him to me so I don't blame you," Mona put in quietly. Emma let out a slightly hysterical laugh.

"Yeah, he's gorgeous and any time he touches me the clothes start flying. But is that the basis of our entire relationship? And is he lying to me, too? Brandon said I shouldn't trust Josef and Josef doesn't want me to believe Brandon. I'm in the middle of some kind of soap opera but no one's bothered to let me read the script or let me see past episodes."

"And it's driving you mad." Mona was more than sympathetic. She'd never lost her memories. Even blind, she had the comforting memory of color and light. Emma's situation was unfair in the extreme. "You want me to give you answers."

"I know it's unreasonable to come to you and demand some sort of explanation of my life but I don't know whom else to go to," she said. The frustration that had energized her now faded away, leaving an exhausted, pale woman who only wanted a chance to rest.

"Josef's a good man," Mona began, searching for words that might help. "He likes to hide that with sarcasm and self-indulgence but he truly is a good man. I've never met Brandon so I don't know what he's like. The only thing I can say is that once Josef had the opportunity, he went to your side and began to tell you everything you'd wanted to know for months. Apparently Brandon knew and never said a word." She could see that Emma was starting to understand the point Mona was trying to make. "I've never been in love, Emma. I've never had the time or the opportunity. Still, I have always assumed that the one I eventually came to love would be someone I could trust to be honest with me. At this point, who do you feel will tell you the truth, Emma? Which of your men will be honest with you?"

"I thought I knew," she whispered. "But now every five minutes something happens, something changes. I don't know anymore."

"You can only make a decision based on what you know at that moment," Mona pointed out logically. "So, based on what you know right now, who do you trust?" Emma already knew whom her heart trusted. She trusted him implicitly even if there was no logical reason for it. Before her lips could even form his name, her cell phone went off.

"Sorry, this is probably important. No one calls my cell phone-"

"Unless it's an emergency," Mona finished for her, smiling when Emma paused to give her a strange look. "Magic is a responsibility with benefits."

"Apparently." She pulled her phone out of her bag and flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Give the phone to Mona, Miss Bradford." Emma knew that poisonously sweet feminine voice. Suddenly she could feel glass cutting into her arm, the grind of asphalt against her bleeding head.

"Naomi," she breathed. Mona jerked forward, eyes wide with surprise and a hint of rage. The witch on the other end of the line was clearly surprised as well.

"Well, well, Bradford. Your memory certainly does hang onto the most inconvenient details." Mona pulled the phone out of Emma's numb fingers.

"Good evening, Naomi. The sunset looks particularly vivid today," she mentioned, walking towards the end of the hallway. "Probably because I haven't seen anything in over two months."

"Don't tell me you're going to whine about that. You know I won't apologize."

"You lost the opportunity to apologize several hundred years ago," Mona retorted softly. Her temper was dangerous because it was so quiet. The silent glide of a great white shark before it consumed its prey.

"I'm not calling to trade threats with you, Mona dear. I thought you'd like to know that I'm going to kill Susie DuBois. However, I'd much rather kill you and your sister. Maybe if you get here soon, Susie can escape while I tear out your heart." Susie DuBois, the girl Andy had said risked a great deal to help. An innocent, a victim. Naomi knew that Mona wouldn't let a child die in her place. It was a trap with bait Mona couldn't say no to. "Blessed be, sister witch." Naomi hung up. Mona stood still for another minute, her eyes closed. This had been a freaking bad day.


	19. The Living and the Dead

Chapter Eighteen: The Living and the Dead

"Would you all please stop arguing?" Andy begged, pressing her thumb against her temple to try to relieve the dull throbbing pain. It felt like everything she heard was too loud, too agonizing.

"I think that would be the best thing at this point," Mona agreed, looking between Mick and Emma. Of course, Emma had wanted to help save Susie and Mick had disagreed. The disagreement had begun to escalate into something close to a shouting match when Andy interrupted.

"Susie came to me. She's my responsibility," Emma said, trying to keep her voice a little softer. Mick ran a hand through his hair, frustrated with the women around him.

"You'd more than likely get shot or stabbed or, I don't know, hexed. Then Josef would kill me." Even if he was human, Josef could still hire another vampire to kill him. Or just poison him with silver. Sure, Mick was Josef's best friend but Emma was the reason he'd turned human. There was no doubt in Mick's mind that Josef would hold him personally responsible for even the tiniest scratch Emma suffered while in his presence.

"From what I've heard, I'd be up against a bunch of teenagers. I can actually handle myself and someone has to drag Susie out of the line of fire while you're playing Terminator." Emma looked to Mona for support. Honestly, Mona wanted another person along for the ride. They could use the help. The problem was that she couldn't leave Andy alone in her condition. She was in pain, changing or fighting the change.

"I want you there but we need you here. For Andy," she hastened to explain, seeing the betrayed look in Emma's eyes. "She isn't well."

"Way to understate," Andy muttered, pressing her face against the pillows. Emma glanced at the other sister. She'd seen how badly Andy was doing the minute she'd walked in. As much as she hated to admit it, Mona was right. She needed to stay behind.

"Okay," she relented quietly, taking a seat across from Andy. "Okay, I'll stay put. But you two better get going before I change my mind." Mick glanced at Mona and wondered why the hell he couldn't influence people the way she did. She was like the voice of reason everyone wanted to listen to, even him. He envied that but, at the same time, could see it was a heavy responsibility.

"Thank you, Emma," she said gratefully. Mona quickly shoved what looked like a piece of chalk into her pocket then hurried out the door with Mick. She could tell by the way he moved that he was armed. He pressed the button for the elevator then the two of them had to wait patiently while they were lowered to the ground floor.

"We might have to kill a few of them," Mick said quietly, watching Mona's face for a reaction. If she wasn't going to do everything necessary then he'd need to leave her behind. Instead of being repulsed or reluctant, she looked deeply sad.

"It wouldn't be the first time I've had to take a life. I can only hope it will be the last." This seemed at odds with the sisters' interest in killing Naomi and Mick said as much.

"What about killing Naomi? You'll have to take a life, then." Mona's warm blue eyes went as icy as a frozen lake.

"She should have died several hundred years ago. I don't consider it taking her life so much as reinstating the natural order of things." Mick glanced at the witch and began to wonder… "Don't start," she muttered. His eyes widened.

"Do you read minds, too?"

"I don't need to when I can read faces." She looked at him with a combination of amusement and exasperation. "Vampires do not violate the natural order. You've been given something, a gift and a curse. The God and the Goddess do not continually try to strike you down so you are not an offense against nature."

"What am I, then?" Mick asked, unwillingly inclined to listen.

"You are a man who is trying much too hard to fight what he is," Mona told him simply. "And while you are fighting it you will never be happy." The elevator doors slid open, ending their conversation. It was just as well since neither of them had anything more to say on the subject.

The short walk to Mick's car was silent. Mona buckled up, thinking about how each time they got into this car someone was in danger or already injured. Perhaps it was jinxed. Then again, maybe it was her.

"I'll fight them off," Mick told her, turning downtown and towards Naomi's club. "Just concentrate on getting Susie out of there." Mona glanced at him with patient amusement.

"So the plan is I let you take all the bullets while saving my own ass and Susie's?" She laughed. "Very noble of you, Mick. Unfortunately I have no intention of using you as a shield, therefore your plan is deeply flawed." Mick took one look at the determined expression on Mona's face and grinned.

"You and Andy aren't half as different as you seem, are you?" She smiled fondly at the mention of her sister.

"We have different ways of doing things. For instance, she is more like a battering ram while I opt for more persuasive methods. And yet we're both stubborn, determined and generally kind."

"You forgot to mention that Andy is impatient and maddening while you are extremely patient but just as maddening," Mick noted, rounding another corner. A glaringly white building flashed in the sunlight and Mona rolled her eyes.

"Naomi is always so intent on protecting herself that she forgets a color can work for anyone at all, even an enemy." Mona hopped out of the car once Mick parked, slowly rolling her shoulders as she approached the club. "I've never been quite as impressive at the physical side of magic as Andy has. She's just more explosive personality-wise than I am. However, that doesn't mean I've never mastered a few satisfying parlor tricks."

"Meaning what?" Mick asked, his longs legs quickly closing the distance between them.

"Meaning I intend to spook them," she replied as she meticulously built an image in her mind of exactly what she wanted done. "The smart ones will run and live. It's the least I can do." She glanced at him briefly. "Having your fangs out at this point would not be inappropriate."

Without any more warning than that the doors of the club flew open. The twenty people inside all backed away as a powerfully enraged witch glowing with magic stormed in closely followed by an equally furious vampire displaying his fangs in a vicious snarl. Seven of the younger 'warriors' ran, just as Mona had hoped. That left thirteen foolish adolescents and one very dangerous witch. With a little patience, Mona was pretty sure she could convince a few more to save themselves.

"Laura, dear," she called, looking towards a skinny girl with large brown eyes that looked as if she'd much rather be safe at home than fighting. "Do you happen to know if Naomi intends to show up or if she's just going to wait and see if you all manage to kill me?"

"H-how do you know my name?" Laura stuttered, terrified. Mona knew it because a name was the most commonly known thing about any person. The information was up for grabs for someone with enough sensitivity to hear it. However, that was less impressive than what Mona answered.

"I looked at you, Laura Melgrove. Consider what else I could do just by looking at you." That was the only excuse Laura needed. Two other girls retreated along with her. In fact, most of the ones who'd run away had been girls. Unlike the boys, they'd rather live out their lives than die bravely. Mona appreciated that.

"Evil witch," one of the boys hissed, shotgun pointed at her heart. Mona shrugged casually.

"Evil is a point of view." She crossed her arms and glanced over her shoulder. "Wouldn't you agree, Naomi?" Mick could smell her now, something sickeningly sweet mixed with earth. And under it all was the always-recognizable scent of decay. Not vampire. Something worse. He turned slowly to look at her and immediately felt a burning rage in his blood. Naomi had done terrible things to his family, his sister, to him… but not him. Andy. Mick shook his head to clear it. The last thing he needed was her irrational voice in his mind.

"If you weren't such an annoyance, Mona, I'd almost be glad to have you back in action," Naomi said in a friendly tone of voice that did not for a moment reach her cold blue eyes. Eyes that were the same pale blue as Mick's in his vampire state except his eyes were not blue at all. Humans saw blue there in order to reassure themselves that what was coming towards them was not completely unnatural. Mick wondered if Naomi's eyes were the same way. "And you've brought your pet vampire. How… sweet."

"This pet could rip your throat out, lady," Mick growled. Naomi snickered derisively before stepping around him to face Mona. They were dressed similarly in jeans and short-sleeved t-shirts except every stitch on Naomi was white.

"You've aged since I last saw you, Naomi," Mona commented, deliberately rubbing salt in an open wound. "Since that was two months ago, I'd be worried if I was in your position." Naomi's eyes narrowed into slits.

"You're no better than your smart ass sister. Speaking of which, where is the little troublemaker? Don't tell me you left her behind." Mona smiled benignly.

"All right, then. I won't." Naomi's smile was far less innocent.

"Tsk, tsk, Mona. I said I wanted to kill you and your sister. It will be such an inconvenience, hunting her down after I kill you. Although, I suppose I can't blame you. I didn't exactly hold up my end of the bargain, either." As if this was their cue, several of the boys hefted something onto their shoulders them flung it into the dance pit. Mick immediately recognized the dull thump of a human body.

"Susie," he whispered. Mona's body tensed and she forgot about facing off with Naomi. She ran to the dead girl's side. Someone had hacked off her platinum blonde hair and sliced open her cheek. Susie DuBois had died in pain. Not just pain, agony. Several of her fingernails had been ripped off. Her right hand was bent back at an unnatural angle, the wrist bones completely snapped. Naomi had clearly ordered a slow death for the traitor to her cause. Her left wrist had been cut open. She'd bled to death.

"How many lives does this make, Naomi?" Mona shouted, spinning back to face Susie's killer. "How many people have you killed during your repulsively long life? Sixty? Seventy? Have you reached a hundred yet? Or have you simply lost track?" The accusation caused a ripple of unease to pass through Naomi's followers. Most of them only wanted a place to call home where they would be protected. They did not want to aid the sadistic tendencies of a murderer.

"I think what you really want to know is who I'm going to kill next," Naomi said quietly, stepping down into the dance pit. "And I don't mind answering. It's you." Power erupted from her hands, black and rotting vines of energy seeping into Mona's throat and slowly choking the life out of her. Mick launched himself at Naomi but was knocked down by a bullet to the shoulder. Thankfully it had been fired by one of the few guns not loaded with silver. Teenagers, though young and not fully developed, could take a lot of damage before they went down. Mick experienced that while fighting ten of them at once, also trying to dodge bullets and the occasional poisonous athame.

None of them were nearly as fast as he was but they outnumbered him. When one fell, another took his place until they could get back up. Two of them died at his hands but after a few minutes he was still riddled with lead and silver. The silver hurt considerably more than the lead making its way through his bloodstream. It weakened him, making it that much easier for a kid not even half Mick's age to shove a stake deep into his chest. He let out a brief, pained roar.

Mona was being pressed into the floor as she fought against Naomi's lethal magic. Her tattoo burned, lending strength to her protection. This was not a battle of rhymes and herbs. This was a pitched fight, one will against another. Mona was strong but she did not have the arsenal of dark magic Naomi had, nor half her experience. The good side was never automatically better than the bad. They simply had more to lose.

The white, pulsing light around Mona began to fade and weaken. She began to cough on the toxic power Naomi forced her to breathe in. "You have to be tired, Mona," she whispered with false gentleness. "All your life you've been dragged from one battle to another. It's time for a permanent rest." A shot went off and a bullet lodged in the floor by Mona's feet. Immediately the force choking the life from her vanished. She desperately sucked in a few deep breaths before even trying to understand what had happened. Naomi slowly pressed her hand against the center of her chest where rust-colored blood was staining her shirt. Then she turned and stared at Emma, cradling a gun in her hand. "Well, if it isn't bad luck Bradford," she murmured, no little irony in her voice.

"You'd have been better off if I was bad aim Bradford," Emma replied harshly. There wasn't a hint of remorse in her eyes even though she'd just shot a person. In fact, it felt like something she'd done before and in similar circumstances. Taking a life to save a life.

"We'll have to pick this up some other time," Naomi said, the first hint of pain darkening her expression. For one second her body seemed to waver in the light and then it simply melted into smoke. Emma swore viciously.

"Does nothing kill that bitch?"

"Bullets don't, unfortunately," Mona told her, pressing a hand against her nose. She had a headache and a nosebleed from overindulging on power but it wasn't a choice she regretted. After all, it had gotten her enough time for Emma to save her life. "Thank you for the help but where is my…?" A series of explosions rocked the club, followed by masculine screams.

"And you thought what you threw at me was a charged crystal. _These_ are charged crystals, you little bastards!" Mona saw another clear quartz crystal fly through the air and quickly covered her ears. The explosion rattled the foundations of the building.

"Never mind," Mona said calmly. "I found her."

"About that," Emma began to say, edging away from the explosions. "There's something I should tell you."

Mick couldn't move but paralysis didn't make him blind. He could see Andy moving with deliberate slowness, boys scattering as she approached. He could also see the boy called Patrick standing by him. Mick smelled determination and knew the kid wasn't going to die without taking someone along for company. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure Patrick wanted Mick to be that company. And Mick really didn't feel like dying today. Patrick aimed the shotgun at Mick's head, knowing one silver bullet to the brain would doom the vampire. A blur of movement and a broken shotgun later, Andy had her fingers wrapped tightly around the boy's neck.

"Oh, hello, Patrick," she said, voice dripping with hostility. "We just keep bumping into each other." Andy closed her eyes briefly then opened them again to show him how all the color had drained away. When she spoke, her sharp canines flashed. "Don't worry. I can promise you'll never see me again." He got out a quick scream before she sank her fangs into his exposed throat.

That day, before Mona and Mick had even gotten out of the apartment building, Andy had turned into a vampire. Emma had panicked, uncertain how to help the straining, dying woman on Mick's couch. For an instant everything had stopped. Her heart, her blood, any and all movement simply ground to a halt. And then begun again.

She dropped Patrick and he stared up at her, clearly shocked to find himself still alive. "I said 'I can promise'," Andy pointed out with an impatient roll of her eyes. "I didn't say I would. Honestly, you teenagers and your dismal grammatical skills." He got up and ran. Andy didn't know whether he'd return to Naomi or if he'd learned not to test his luck. She slowly licked her teeth, cleaning away his blood. That had tasted about a thousand times better than Mick's refrigerated nonsense. And, unfortunately, she would have liked a lot more. This insatiable lust for blood was probably a fledgling thing. At least she'd saved her sire's ass so she could learn a few things.

Andy went to Mick, kneeling by his side and jerking the stake out of his chest. He came up snarling his displeasure at the pain. For a minute they were both raw and purely instinctive. Mick knotted his fingers in Andy's hair, jerking her head back and leaning close so he could smell her. The insulted growl vibrating in her throat made him tighten his grip on her hair in warning. She was strong but he was stronger.

"What are they doing?" Emma whispered to Mona. The two humans gave the vampires space but that didn't keep them from watching.

"It's a bit like a father seeing his child for the first time although this is obviously less tender." Andy struggled against Mick, testing his strength. He bared his fangs as he roared in her face.

"No kidding," Emma muttered. Andy didn't like giving in but now she was trying to fight both Mick and her own instincts. Instincts that were saying she should listen to the older, stronger male. The fact of the matter was that her new vampire instincts were also saying she should kiss him and make up. Andy voted to go with her more human nature.

"Okay, I get it. You're the big bad alpha male. Can you get off me now?" Mick was wounded, weak and frustrated. His eyes faded back to hazel and he smiled dryly at her.

"You're going to be trouble." Andy smirked as she helped him to his feet, easily supporting him with her new strength. It was only when they were back in his car and safely away from the club that was soon to be swarmed with police and reporters that she bothered to respond.

"I thought I already was."


	20. The Perspectives

Chapter Nineteen: The Perspectives

Emma stared out her front window as the sun gradually rose in the east. Another day had passed, along with another crazy sex-filled night with Josef. She had more than paid back her debt of three hours. Now she was fiddling with her engagement ring and going over the decisions she'd made silently in her head.

When Emma had finally dragged herself home and listened to her messages, she was surprised to discover that Brandon's flight home had been cancelled. Surprised and extremely pleased. She paced for a minute, debating the strategy that had just blossomed in her mind. Then she picked up the phone, called her fiancé and lied. She innocently asked why he was coming home. She pretended not to remember the conversation they'd had that morning. Emma had been able to hear his relief from thousands of miles away. It burned.

Another hour had passed before Josef had turned up. Emma was curled up on the couch, snacking on popcorn and trying to blow off steam by reading _Spell of the Highlander_ by Karen Marie Moning. Unfortunately it was a romance novel and even if parts of it were funny, too many of the descriptions lined up with what she'd done with Josef the other night. Consequently she was hot, bothered and annoyed when she opened the door to Josef's insistent knocking.

"Do you have a death wish?" he snapped at her. She glared, not bothering to let him into the house.

"Apparently, since I keep hanging out with you lot." Emma 1, Josef 0.

"Mick called and told me about your adventure with witches and a handgun," he said, pushing past her and closing the door behind him. She rolled her eyes.

"You aren't my babysitter, Josef. I can risk my life however I please." Emma moved to walk past him but he gripped her shoulders and backed her against a nearby wall.

"You aren't hearing me," he whispered, unable to meet her eyes. It was then that she understood. This went deeper than a petty argument about her independence and the stupid choices she made. "There's this thing beating inside my chest. People assume it's my heart but it isn't. You are my heart. And if you stopped, I would die. If I lost you, I would be lost." He met her eyes and her own heart broke a little for his pain. The helpless pain of not being able to keep the ones you loved safe. Josef was pale, shaking. And she felt an intense worry that was foreign to her. Worry for him, for his health. She'd never had to before. Who worried about a vampire's health?

"I don't remember you, Josef," Emma told him quietly, taking his face in his hands. "But I don't think I could ever not know you. I could never not want to love you." She kissed him, gently at first, then harder as her feelings became too strong to control.

Josef carried her up the stairs and to the bed she'd shared so many times with Brandon. Not once had she wanted Brandon like she wanted Josef. This desperate, helpless emotion was something only one man could make her feel. It would never be Brandon.

He rocked her against his body, lips gliding across her skin as he gradually undressed her. Emma had looked into Naomi's eyes that night. She'd seen the woman responsible for taking both their lives. With a strangled moan she gripped Josef's hair as he made love to her, as they both fought Naomi by loving each other just as strongly as before she'd tried to ruin them. "I remember this," she whispered.

"How could you forget it?" Emma barely had time for a quick laugh before he pushed her over the edge. She clung to him, gasping his name. And knew without a doubt that she loved him.

Love was never simple. Emma thought about that in the early morning light, a flight of stairs separating her and the man she could now honestly say she'd die for. She still needed her memories. Not for memories of Josef, although she would treasure them, but for memories of Brandon. For those few, select memories she had of Brandon and Naomi speaking together. Emma wanted to know how far the betrayal had gone. She wanted to know how thoroughly she had to kill him.

She didn't need to find out how she'd fallen in love with Josef. She already knew. He was Josef and she was Emma and that was simply how it had to be. Emma smiled, opened up the window and tossed the engagement ring out. She'd picked her side. Now it was time to fight the battle.

Life was never simple. Andy thought about that as she downed another glass of blood. She had been pretty sure that when she started hunting Naomi she would either die or survive. Living forever hadn't really occurred to her. Now she had to take a long, serious look at it all. She was a witch who was also a vampire. She had a human sister to look after and her sire was in denial about most of his vamp nature.

"Boy," she muttered, tipping the glass further back so she could get that last drop of blood. "When life gets complicated…" What did one do with an eternity, anyway? Finish _War and Peace_? She hadn't even started it so that was out. Maybe she could do some traveling, see the world. That would take at least a few years.

It had been hours since they'd all returned from the club. Mona had asked her a few questions in the car but once she was sure her sister was all right, she'd gone straight to the roof. Andy was more or less certain she was trying to get Mick to talk to her alone. Instead, he'd barely glanced at his new fledgling after he'd rather viciously torn the bullets out of his body and gone to his office with a glass of blood. Andy rinsed out her glass, thinking back on his conversation with Josef. Of course she'd been able to hear it. Mick wasn't used to thinking of her as a vampire or he might have kept his voice to a very low whisper. As it was, she could hear her sister's heartbeat from the roof. Overhearing a conversation was a cinch.

"Josef, I have a problem." A problem. That was what she was. Andy didn't mind being trouble but… a _problem_? Like some annoying equation that needed to be solved? That pissed her off.

"Mick has a problem. It must be Tuesday," Josef had commented dryly.

"I turned Andy." There had been a tense pause while Mick's friend processed this.

"You're kidding."

"No," Mick had said. She'd heard the quiet rustle of his hair and deduced that he was running his fingers through it. "You knew I fed from her but then she was injured and lost even more blood. I didn't know how bad it was. She just kept going like nothing was wrong. When she was trying to get poison out of my back-"

"She ingested your blood," Josef had finished for him then sighed. "The process must have been slow for her."

"All day," Mick had confirmed.

"At least she knew what to expect and where you kept your blood." Josef had let out another deep sigh. "I don't know her well but she struck me as the fiercely determined sort. She won't kill anyone if she doesn't want to and she'll listen to what you say even while she pretends she isn't. What I'm worried about is you." Andy wished she could have seen Mick's reaction to that. The confusion in his voice had been palpable.

"Me? Why me? I'm not the one who was accidentally turned into a vampire."

"No, you're the one who hates being a vampire and has to teach someone else how to adjust. You've pretended as much as you could that you're human, Mick. You've denied every single pleasure you could have experienced as a vampire and, as I told you before, eventually your inner vampire is going to demand to be fed. Now you have a young, reasonably attractive fledgling within touching distance. How are you going to handle that?" At that point, Andy had buried her head in the couch, concentrating on anything she could to block out the conversation she no longer wanted to hear. Her connection to Mick was not at all romantic. It was a power struggle. He loved Beth and she knew he would sooner stake himself than allow his instincts to take control when she was around. For a reason Andy couldn't properly describe, that hurt her slowly beating heart.

"I won't do to Andy what Coraline did to me, if that's what you mean," Mick had said quietly. He couldn't afford to stop listening. He needed to hear Josef out, for Andy's sake. "I won't take advantage of her."

"If you and Beth were still an item and you were letting your vamp side out with her then I'd believe you. Unless there's been some radical change since the last time I was near you as a vampire, you're wound up tight. I'm betting that you've noticed already that it doesn't take much for Andy to make you bare fangs and roar." Mick didn't know what to say then. Josef was right. Andy drove him mad, forced him to react in ways he never allowed with Beth. "Why not involve Beth in this?" Josef had suggested, already knowing his friend probably wouldn't consider the notion for more than half a second. "Let her see this side of your life. Then she could even make an informed decision about living as a vampire."

"No." Mick had immediately changed the subject after that, talking about what Emma had done. He knew Josef wouldn't stay put for long if he thought he'd nearly lost his woman. After his best friend had hung up the phone, Mick had sat in his chair and thought. Now, after the night had all but gone and the sun threatened the horizon, Mick finished thinking. There was no going back. They had to move forward, track Naomi and teach Andy at the same time. Josef had warned him well enough. Mick would know to control himself with Andy. He'd done it for twenty-two years. If he could do it for love before, he'd manage it now.

Andy stood in front of the bathroom mirror and stared. She opened her mouth wide, flashing teeth at the mirror. White teeth, relatively straight and all normal. She concentrated for a minute then watched as her canines lengthened, sharpened. There was a circle of red around her eyes, her very white eyes. It would take a lot of getting used to.

"Now I get to be offended at all the vampire movies as well as the ones involving witches. Fantastic," she mumbled sarcastically. Andy breathed in and immediately caught Mick's scent. She smirked. Well, there was a bonus. He couldn't ever sneak up on her.

"How are you?" Andy glanced over her shoulder to where he was standing in the doorway.

"Peachy keen," she replied, forcing her appearance back to normal. Although, which was normal for her now? The fanged face or the human one? "How about you?"

"All healed." She could smell that. This whole smelling everything deal was weird but she supposed that eventually it became normal. Or at least less annoying. "Come on, I need to walk you through something." Andy quirked a brow but followed his lead anyway. She was too curious not to. Mick led her into a windowless room with dim lighting. Then she saw the industrial-sized freezer sitting in the middle, raised up slightly on a platform like it was a coffin.

"Well," she said thoughtfully. "That would explain why sleeping in normal temperatures made me extremely cranky." Andy glanced at Mick. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you don't wear pajamas in that thing."

"No, clothes tend to freeze," he told her.

"Gotcha." She approached the freezer, picturing herself sleeping inside it. Well, there were stranger things. Flying on broomsticks, for example. "Do all vampires have a spare freezer lying around for emergencies?"

"No, this isn't a spare," Mick said, smiling a little at the idea of a spare freezer. She frowned at him.

"Then where are you sleeping?"

"I can stay awake most of the day and take a quick nap once you get up in the evening." It was going to seriously exhaust him since he'd used a lot of energy healing all those wounds but the fledgling came first. Andy's frown deepened.

"No, that's not going to work. You're tired, riding the edge of exhaustion and, believe me, I know how that feels. I'll stay up today." She walked to the door, considering the discussion closed.

"I'm older," Mick said as he took hold of her arm. Already he could feel the instinct brewing inside him. She needed to stop disagreeing, to stop fighting. "I can stand a day without rest." Andy snorted.

"I'm younger. I'll bounce back easier." His grip tightened and her eyes narrowed. "Back off, Mick."

"Andromeda," he said while the muscles in his arms tensed and sharp canines bit into his lower lip. "You're making this difficult." She responded automatically to his hostile stance, eyes quickly changing color.

"It's Andy." They were snarling at each other now, on the verge of blows. It would not end well. Andy knew that. Mick knew that. There was no way for their vamp selves to make peace with each other that didn't include Mick pinning Andy to the wall and making her scream, presumably in a good way. Realizing that, Andy opted once again for human strategy. Compromise. "We could always be adult about this and share."

Mona watched the sunrise, arms folded tight around herself. It would take more than one night for Andy and Mick to resolve their issues, just as it would take more than one night for Emma's problems to vanish into thin air. As for Mona, she had tasted death that night. She knew now that Naomi would face her once more in the end. They would look into each other's eyes and one of them would die. She knew that, felt it in her bones. That meant she had a great deal to do before that final battle came. So many things to put in order and people to tend to. Just in case good conquered evil but lost someone during the fight. Susie had died. A child, not even in the prime of her life, had sacrificed everything for love of her brother. For her need to honor his memory.

If Mona were to die, she would bring Naomi with her for Susie's sake if nothing else. She owed her at least that.

And Naomi? Oh, she had not even begun to wreak havoc in their lives.


	21. The Consequences

Chapter Twenty: The Consequences

One week. For one week, everything had been perfect. Emma had spent the majority of her time with Josef, relearning the small details she'd forgotten. It was a bit like living in the center of a tornado where the world was calm and perfect. At any moment the wind could shift and she would be sucked back into the chaos. Towards the end of her perfect week, her body had begun to spoil it. In the morning she would put on a happy face for Josef then close herself up in the bathroom at the café after the lunch rush had passed while nausea racked her body. At that point in the day she couldn't really hold back anymore.

"Why me?" she grumbled, head pressed against the cool white porcelain of the toilet. Maybe she was being punished for lying to Brandon. Maybe she should have told him over the phone that she was moving out and that his engagement ring was in the jungle of his front lawn. Of course, Emma had been cowardly although she wanted to call it honorable. She wanted to confront Brandon face-to-face before moving in with Josef and becoming fully part of his life.

The stomach issues could also be nerves. It wouldn't be pretty when Brandon got back. Or when Naomi finally emerged from the shadows. Emma didn't like guessing at what the big, bad witch was up to. There were a thousand possibilities and none of them were good. Mona had explained that if any big magic went down she would sense it and be able to warn everyone in time. While comforting, Mona would not be immediately aware of subtle, invasive magic that destroyed lives. And while Andy was in vampire boot camp they were a witch short. Mick was keeping her busy and out of the way. Mona had told Emma that it was because he didn't want a fledgling vampire getting into trouble while she could barely control herself. However, Mona also expressed her belief that Andy's control was not that bad and Mick was just overprotective.

No matter what the reason, Emma was nauseous and miserable. She'd just blame the world.

"Um, Emma?" Ellen called softly, tapping on the bathroom door. "I know you like to spend an hour alone with the plumbing but I need to tell you something." Emma smiled a little. She was a bad influence on Ellen. The young vampire was developing a sarcastic streak that was carefully hidden by her soft voice.

"Go for it, honey. I'm not going to be moving for at least another ten minutes."

"Here it is, then," Ellen began, taking a deep breath she didn't need. "I know I'm young and I haven't experienced everything yet. I could very well be wrong about what I think is happening to you. It's just that your body is producing certain hormones that I… Well, I've only smelled them on… I think you might be…"

"I hope you're not going to say dying because that would be really inconvenient," Emma murmured, wondering what was so difficult for Ellen to just spit out. The vampire giggled nervously.

"No, not dying. The opposite, actually. I think you're pregnant." She took a few steps back when Emma swung the door open.

"Pregnant? I… I can't be pregnant. I'm not… I don't…"

"You're thirty and still fertile," Ellen pointed out gently. "And Josef is human. You could say all systems are go." Emma's eyes were wide and she had to use the door for support. There was a baby growing inside her. Josef's child. Her child. An ex-fiancé to deal with, an evil witch haunting her steps, a former vampire's immortality still missing and Emma had to go and get pregnant. What the hell sort of timing was that?

"Christ," she muttered, wishing she could run her hand through her braided hair. Ellen bit her lip.

"Don't you want it?" she asked nervously. Emma had never talked about having children. Not everyone wanted to be a mother. Maybe Emma was one of those women.

"I haven't really thought about it," Emma said honestly. "Babies were always sort of off on a distant horizon. Then being with Josef ruled out having children of my own." She sighed deeply, moving into her workroom. "I mean I've always liked babies. They have really exquisite hands."

A storm of thoughts had erupted in her head. She was going to be a mother. She'd need to buy a thousand different things, see a doctor and… and tell Josef. Did he want to be a father? Did he like children? Emma slid a hand over her womb protectively. Her child deserved to be loved completely, no matter what. That wouldn't be an option. She smiled slowly, the fright and uncertainty beginning to fade. Fathered by a vampire turned human, her baby was completely impossible. Miraculous. Who cared about the timing? This was fantastic! "I need to call Josef," she said, reaching for her bag. Ellen had gone still a moment ago and begun to sniff lightly at the air.

"No need. He's here and… angry." Ellen and Emma both frowned. Then Ellen knew exactly what Josef was angry about. "Uh oh. Did you know Brandon was back from Europe?" Emma paled. She could remember her message machine that morning, the red light flashing. Josef had wanted to know why she refused to check it. Emma didn't want Brandon intruding on her time, that was why. Apparently Josef had listened to the messages. Apparently Brandon had called and said he was coming over to see her.

Apparently she was screwed.

"This isn't going to be pretty," Emma said, hurrying out of her workroom. She was right and knew it straight away. Brandon taking a swing at Josef was definitely her first clue. Josef smashing his fist into Brandon's face was the second.

"Oh, dear," Ellen breathed. "That drew blood."

"Shit," Emma cursed and sped up, throwing the door open. It didn't distract the men. Brandon was set on making Josef bleed in return and Josef was thinking about how bad it would look if he snapped the other man's neck. "Josef, stop!" He heard Emma's voice and turned slightly in response. Brandon took the opportunity, striking out and blackening his eye.

"Hey, that was a sucker punch!" Ellen shouted. She caught Josef before he fell while Emma walked past the two of them. The vampire wasn't sure exactly what Emma was intending until her fingers closed into a tight fist and she finished breaking Brandon's nose for Josef.

"Jesus Christ, Emma! What the fuck was that for?" he cried out, holding his hands over his nose. Emma rubbed her knuckles but kept the wince of pain off her face. The impact had hurt her, although not nearly as much as it had hurt him. That was satisfying.

"Believe me, I have a long list of reasons," Emma snapped. "And you're going to hear all of them. Get inside right now." Brandon only briefly entertained the notion of disagreeing. But even a blind man could see the sparks of fire in Emma's dangerously narrowed eyes. He did as he was told.

"Impressive right hook," Josef commented, having managed to stand up straight after a few moments. The last time he'd felt real significant pain was when another vampire had shoved a stake through his chest. A sucker punch delivered by a human paled in comparison but he'd felt it nonetheless. It was humiliating.

"Your eye is going to swell," Emma said, tilting her head back and studying the damage. Then she stood on tiptoe and pressed a soft kiss to his surprised mouth. "Ellen will put some ice on it while I tell off Brandon."

"I'd rather you take Ellen's job," Josef said as he stroked her cheek. "Besides, she could punish Brandon much more effectively." Ellen smiled, sharp fangs glittering briefly in the sun before she morphed back into a shy young woman. Emma smirked.

"Tempting. I might take you up on that later."

Before Emma went to talk to Brandon, she made sure that any lingering signs of warmth or pleasure Josef usually triggered when he was around had vanished. This was not going to be a friendly conversation. She had broken his nose. Her opinion about who was the better man was obvious. Emma pushed open the door and prepared herself for an argument. Instead she was surprised by Brandon hanging his head like a beaten puppy.

"I deserve this," he said, gesturing to the nose he'd stuffed tissues in to stop the bleeding. The skin was a mottled shade of red and the bruising had already started. His nose would never be straight again, either. "You have every right to be mad at me."

"No kidding." Sadly, being agreed with took the fire out from under her and she sat on her desk chair. "You lied to me."

"Yes," he whispered unwillingly. "I thought you were in danger. I thought Kostan was going to hurt you." Brandon shook his head. "Then I got you into a car wreck. Shows how safe I am."

"It's still vague for me," Emma said. "I need you to describe this in detail." He winced as if the suggestion pained him. "What's made you so willing to talk about this? A few seconds ago you were at Josef's throat."

"Josef and I don't have a great relationship," he replied simply. "And I've been wanting to talk about this for six months. Lying to you was never easy."

"You pulled it off well." Emma had every right to be a bitch right then and she intended to make this difficult. A broken nose wasn't enough. He'd wrecked her life just as much as Naomi had. Although… if he hadn't then there would be no baby growing inside of her. Damn.

"Naomi came to me," Brandon told her. "Somehow she knew how much Josef had freaked me out and that I was afraid for you. She knew and she convinced me that I wasn't crazy. That you were in danger. Then she asked if I was willing to pay the price."

"The price of what?" Emma asked, remembering what Josef had told her about Naomi. She'd talked about the price of her services. A price that was always too steep to pay.

"The price of keeping you safe. I said yes. I did what she told me to do. I lied to you, got you to drive down to my house. Emma, I swear to you that if I'd known what she was planning I wouldn't have agreed. I didn't want to hurt you."

"But you did," she murmured, looking away from his pleading eyes. The details were foggy but the pain wasn't forgettable. It was chiseled into her body. The impact, the glass, the rough grind of pavement. All of it was because Brandon hadn't asked her if she was safe or not. He hadn't trusted her judgment.

"She erased your memory," Brandon continued. "Except she said it wasn't erased, that memories couldn't be erased. They could only be locked away. She… she gave me those pills for your headaches. Any time the pain started, it meant that a memory was getting loose. The medication would keep it all repressed. After a while, Naomi said you wouldn't need it anymore." Emma's fingers dug into her jeans, clutching at her legs. He'd poisoned her. She'd figured it out before but… It was too horrifying for words.

"I haven't taken it in a week," Emma informed him flatly, afraid that if she spoke with any emotion she'd start screaming. "There haven't been any headaches, either. Have I passed the point of no return?"

"I don't know. Maybe it just takes a while to wear off," Brandon suggested. If she'd lost her memories forever, there was no way she'd forgive him. Forgiveness didn't seem likely right now anyway. "I can get you your sketchbooks. I hid them at my house. Naomi said to destroy them but that didn't feel right."

"Oh, because you're such a moral compass," she snarled. Emma stood up and fought the urge to hit him again. She needed to keep in mind that she'd benefited from all this. Josef wouldn't have become human if it hadn't happened. If he hadn't had become human… Emma wrapped her arms around her body, holding that spark of life tight within her. Her memories might be gone for good. In exchange she was getting a child. Emma could live with that. "I wanted to tell you this once you came home. I'm leaving. I'll have someone get my things from your house. I never want to go back. Josef's more than happy to have me as a roommate again. Oh, and the wedding's off." Brandon opened his mouth. Whether it was to apologize or plead, Emma didn't know and never would.

"Emma!" Ellen cried out. Emma sprinted out the door and felt her heart grind to a stop when she saw Josef's pale, seemingly lifeless body in her friend's arms. "I don't know what happened. His pulse doubled then stopped for a few seconds before he collapsed." The vampire was then completely ignored as Emma took Josef's face in her hands.

"Josef? Come on, Josef, don't do this to me. Josef!" she shouted, beginning to shake him. Then she noticed it. A smell clung to Josef that did not belong. "Do you smell that?" she asked Ellen, looking up at her.

"Candle smoke," Ellen whispered. Both of them came to the same realization at once.

"Call Mona." Emma took Josef's weight even though she couldn't handle it. She ended up cradling his head on her lap as she sat on the floor. He felt cold. Too cold. Dimly she could hear Ellen's voice on the phone. Emma pressed her fingers to his throat. There was a pulse, frail and weak. "Josef," she pleaded quietly. "Josef, please open your eyes. Please, I'm begging you. You know how much I hate to beg. Please, Josef, I love you. I need you here. Josef, _please_." Her voice broke on the tears she could no longer control. "I can't lose you, Josef. I can't. Please."

_Please_, she prayed to whatever power was listening. _Please, don't let him die_.


	22. The Moment In Between

Chapter Twenty-One: The Moment In Between

Andy let out a soft growl when the phone rang. She had nearly reached that thoughtless stage of meditation where everything was still and calm. Mona had insisted that they start meditating together, saying that it would help Andy deal with the transition from mortal to immortal. Since she had never been much for meditating, Andy hadn't expected to enjoy it. Now, however, there was something about living forever that gave her a different perspective. She didn't need to be active at every moment. She had time now. Time to do everything, be anything. That was a definite bonus.

"Emma," Mona said, her eyes flying open. "Something's wrong." She stood up quickly and ran for the phone. Andy followed, employing a little supernatural speed to get there before her sister. It was a gift she apparently had to exercise in order to control. At least, that's what Mick had said. "Hello, Ellen, what's happened?" Andy paid close attention to her sister's expressions then, a little more reluctantly, to the heartbeat she could now hear. It had increased slightly as Ellen spoke.

"It's Josef. He collapsed at the café and his pulse is weak. We don't know what's wrong." In the background, Andy could hear Emma's voice quietly pleading.

"I can't lose you, Josef. I can't. Please."

"Don't move him," Mona told her. "If he opens his eyes, make sure he doesn't move. I'm serious, Ellen. Every ounce of energy counts right now. We can't afford to waste any. I'll be there as soon as possible." She hung up then hurried to pack up the few things she expected Josef would need.

"It happened faster than we'd expected," Andy commented, handing her sister a pouch of smooth crystals. Mona nodded and slung the bag of supplies over her shoulder.

"I suspect Naomi's taken it upon herself to trigger the inevitable." She tied her hair back while she searched for her shoes. Then she went still, appearing to stare into space. Andy knew better than to interrupt. She'd seen her sister have visions thousands of times and no one knew the signs better. "Oh, brilliant," she murmured, closing her eyes.

"Bad news?" Andy asked, more concerned than she wanted to admit.

"You're going to need to keep Mick in the apartment once you tell him about Josef," Mona replied. Both of them knew this was easier said than done. "Beth was trying to get him to open up and… Well, she tried to convince him to bite her. Seduced him a little, actually."

"She isn't one to back down from a fight," Andy commented. She liked Beth, which was a little weird considering her complicated feelings for Mick. It did keep Andy from letting what Mick called her inner vamp leap out and nail her sire to the wall. She wasn't a teenager screwing around with a cute boy on the light crew anymore. Now she had to be responsible and show some restraint to keep from hurting people she respected.

"The point is that Mick is in a seriously bad mood. Once he knows about Josef then he'll want to charge to the rescue. Emma is upset enough to go right along with him and get in serious trouble. She's pregnant now. She can't take any stupid risks." Andy raised a brow.

"Emma's pregnant? Well… that's complicated." Josef dying, Emma pregnant, Mick worked up and pissed off. The sun hadn't set and already Andy's day was hectic. "I'll do my best to make Mick stay put but I can't promise anything. He is older, after all. Fully capable of kicking my ass and probably wanting to do it." Mona gave her sister a quick hug.

"You'll heal." Andy laughed, shaking her head as Mona nearly flew out the door.

"And people think she's the sweet one," she mumbled. The apartment was empty. Andy smiled, getting excited even though she knew the solitude was going to end. For the last week, alone time had been minimal. Mick's eyes had always been on her and his paranoia was getting on her nerves. It wasn't as if she was going to run out of the apartment in search of innocent's to feed on. She'd gotten used to the stuff from the morgue. While she wouldn't agree that it was better than live blood, it kept her from starving. A starving vampire was a dangerous one. That was Vamp 101.

She flopped down on the floor in her jean shorts and tank top, stretching out to enjoy the cold surface. Alone. Beautifully alone. Andy had never been a loner but she enjoyed her private time. These days she couldn't even get that while she slept. Mick was constantly at her back no matter if she was conscious or unconscious. Although seeing Mick naked hadn't exactly been painful… Well, actually it had been. He had a sculpted body engineered to make the average woman drool. Sadly, she was an average woman.

She curled her body up tight, embarrassed at the ache low in her stomach. Stupid fledgling hormones. Andy thought about how beautiful Beth was and the light in Mick's eyes when he looked at her. That usually killed any strong urges that didn't involve blood.

Maybe taking a nap on the floor wasn't the best way to use her time. Still, what other options did she have? Andy supposed she could always use Mick's computer and get herself an account on facebook. Too bad she didn't care for the idea of being plugged into the Internet. She ended up staying on the floor, which wasn't all that bad. It gave her an opportunity to construct a strategy for when Mick came home.

Not even half an hour later she could hear and smell Mick coming toward the door. Andy pulled herself into a chair, trying to look nonchalant. His expression was not a happy one when he opened the door. Tension was visible in his stiff shoulders and clenched hands. Once he realized Mona was no longer there, his expression got even darker.

"Where's your sister?" he demanded roughly. Damn, Beth sure had messed with his self-control. Too bad Mick hadn't snapped. Mick probably wouldn't have been this wound up if he'd spent a few hours doing the horizontal mambo with the blonde reporter.

"She decided to sneak out with her boyfriend. Don't worry, though. I got my homework done and I didn't make any prank calls."

"Dammit, Andromeda, I'm not in the mood for this! You aren't supposed to be left alone." While Mick towered over her, Andy stayed in the chair with her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed up at him.

"Who died and made you my father?" she asked dryly.

"I'm your sire. It's the same thing," he snapped back at her. Andy stood up then, annoyed but also pleased that her method of distraction had worked.

"The hell it is. Was Coraline a mother to you?" He jerked back, shock putting his temper on the backburner.

"Who told you about her?" Andy refused to feel sorry for him. Even if his eyes did look haunted, she wasn't going to back off and leave this alone. Whatever had happened with Coraline still affected him today. It needed to be addressed.

"A week ago when you were on the phone with Josef, I heard you say her name. It wasn't that hard to figure out that she was your sire. You said you wouldn't take advantage of me like Coraline had taken advantage of you."

"You shouldn't have been listening in," Mick told her. His temper was starting to recover and Andy prepared for the fight they both knew was inevitable.

"You should have been more honest with me. This issue you have with being a vampire and thinking you're a monster isn't because of what you've done. It's because of what you're capable of and what Coraline did. You don't want to be like her. What all did she do that was so awful, Mick? What are you so afraid of becoming?" The color drained from his eyes as he took her arm and slammed her into a nearby wall. A low growl vibrated in his chest. Andy changed instinctively, letting out a warning hiss through her fangs.

"I could kill you," he warned. "You're young. It would be easy for me to kill you."

"You won't because you're Mick. Mick doesn't kill without a reason. Maybe Coraline did but she isn't you, Mick. And you aren't her." Andy knew she'd gotten too close to an open wound by the way he latched a hand around her throat and growled dangerously into her face. She wanted to avoid what she knew was going to happen. If she didn't avoid it then it would always haunt her, reminding her of what would never be. Unfortunately, there was no room for human conflict here. There were only two vampires on the edge of a decision. Even when he drew back and fought for control, they were on the edge. They were stuck there until someone made a choice.

"You never said where your sister went," he pointed out quietly, looking away from her. Andy sighed.

"She needed to go help Josef. He's ill, probably dying." She gripped Mick's arm as he lunged blindly for the door. "You can't help, Mick. This isn't some demon you can run and fight. Mona needs space and a tension-free environment. It'll be hard enough with Emma freaking out over her shoulder. An angry vampire in the room will make it worse." He shook off her hand and continued on.

"I'm going to see him. Then I'm going to get his immortality back and fix the mess you witches started." The 'you witches' comment very efficiently snapped her control in two. With a snarl she gripped the back of his jacket and threw him as hard as she could. Mick hit a pillar with a bone-rattling jolt, one of his ribs snapping then mending back together. When he lifted his head to glare at her all of the human had bled out of him.

"Come on, Mick," she taunted, tossing her hair back to keep her vision clear. "I'm young, remember? This should be easy." He flew at her and she ran, leaping over furniture as she stayed barely an inch ahead of him. Sharp nails suddenly dug into her arms and blood trickled across her skin. Andy snarled and kicked out. The blow caught him in the stomach, weakening his grip. Mick had to duck out of the way when she tried to smash her fist into his head. He took her by the waist and pulled her to the ground, pinning his wriggling fledgling to the ground. Andy was fast and clever but she was still young. Her strength just didn't measure up to his.

"Easy," he grunted, avoiding the knees that were desperately trying to wound him in a place that would cause him a great deal of pain, immortal or no.

"Get off!" Andy continued to struggle but she didn't achieve much. Mick was like a boulder she couldn't shift.

"Since the first thing you'll do is try to kill me, I'm going to have to deny that request. Can I do anything else for you?" Mick asked, sarcasm obvious in his voice.

"You could apologize," she snapped at him. His jaw dropped.

"Apologize? You're the one who attacked me!"

"You lumped Naomi and I into the same category. 'You witches'," she quoted and some of her fury made sense to him at last.

"I was upset," he murmured, clearly abashed.

"You made it sound like I have brunch with her every Sunday, that we swap recipes and cackle over a bubbling cauldron together!" she hissed. Andy flipped her body, taking Mick with her. He couldn't help but stare. Josef would have approved of her. She was angry and fully vamped out. There was no shyness about her fangs or the fact that she was pinning him to the floor. Part of him disapproved. Another part was deeply envious.

"That date with Beth must have been a disaster," Andy said, wanting to hurt him like he'd hurt her. "You came in here wanting to hit something. Then again, maybe that's not what you were wanting." She breathed in and caught the scent she was looking for. On the edge of his shirt was the imprint of red lipstick. "You have to be tired of denying her over and over again. Getting a little frustrated, Mick?" They traded position again as he overpowered her, gripping Andy's wrists and grinding her bones into the floor.

"What about you, Andy? I know what it's like to be a fledgling. I remember the uncontrollable need. And it wasn't just for blood." Mick lowered his mouth, fangs brushing tauntingly against the edge of her lips. Immediately he could smell the hot aroma of desire coming off his fledgling's body. "I'm not the only one who's frustrated."

"I don't have anyone, Mick," she hissed in response. "You're the only one in the room with a sweet mortal love willing to share themselves with you. You're the only one who has the chance to be with the person you love and all you have to do is let them into your life. You have to risk hurting them and being hurt in return. It's not that different from a human relationship. If you'd be honest with yourself for a few seconds you'd see that. So, given the facts, what the hell is stopping you?"

For one long minute, neither of them moved. Then she felt some of the tension drain out of Mick. Andy knew what he was going to do. The self-destructive half of her wanted to feel his lips pressed warmly against hers. It anticipated the touch as he neared her mouth.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Andy was going to live forever. She couldn't bear doing that if she knew what he tasted like. She wouldn't be able to stand existing if he kissed her while thinking about Beth, about what he was going to keep himself from having by replacing it with something else. She lifted her hand and pushed, sliding out from under his body. "I won't be your excuse," Andy whispered before flying up the stairs and locking herself in with the freezer.

Eventually she heard Mick leave although she doubted he was going to see Josef. No, he was going to brood. Maybe he would go to see Beth and apologize. He hadn't apologized to Andy, even when he knew he should have. She'd come to accept that she was not the woman who got the sweet side of Mick St. John. That would always be for Beth. She was meant for his anger and pain. The weak, tender heart inside her chest didn't mind serving as an emotional punching bag. Thank the God and Goddess that the rest of her was not so willing.

Hours later the phone rang again. She picked it up, thinking that Mona was calling with an update. Instead Andy heard unstable breathing and a quiet note of desperation that belonged to only one woman.

"It's Emma," she said quietly. "I've figured out a way to get Naomi out of hiding. The problem is that the only vampire I know who might be willing and able to watch my back is you. Could you do that for me, Andy?"

"You mean go against what everyone is saying we should do and choose the foolish and dangerous option instead?" she asked, lips curving in a humorless smile. "Why not? Sounds like fun to me."


	23. The Painful Victory

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Painful Victory

"The first thing you have to understand is that your chances of survival are extremely slim," Andy said once she'd reached Brandon's house. Emma hadn't wanted to come back there but once she knew there was going to be a major battle for Josef's life, she decided it was only right that it take place at Brandon's home. It was half his fault, anyway.

"I know I'm taking a risk," Emma replied, leading her vampire friend up the stairs to the bathroom. "I don't care. My Josef is dying." It was what Mona had told her in no uncertain terms. The fact that the two witches had neglected to mention that Josef had an extremely limited life span might have sent her into a rage if she'd had more time. As it was, she couldn't afford to waste a second.

"Did Mona tell you everything?" Emma nodded.

"She said a vampire couldn't live as a human. Any cure had to be temporary because the body couldn't take the shock of being converted back into a weaker state. She also said the last vampire Naomi took lasted three months before his heart stopped beating for no apparent reason." She opened up the medicine cabinet and took out the pills Brandon had given her for the last six months. "Naomi's decided to kill Josef early."

"That about sums it up," Andy said, leaning against the bathroom vanity. "Now, how are we going to get Naomi here?"

"Brandon told me that she promised to give him more pills if anything happened to the ones she'd already supplied him with. He got the impression that she wouldn't take long and that he wouldn't have to call her up to tell her I flushed out all my medication."

"Let me see that." Andy took the bottle from Emma, undid the top and sniffed at it. Almost immediately she began to cough. "Holy Hecate, that smells foul." Black magic was practically leaking out of the container. "Good thing you stopped taking this crap. It probably would have killed your baby." Emma blinked at her.

"How did you know…? Oh, right. You're a vampire, too."

"Actually, Mona told me. It's a magic thing," Andy explained vaguely. She was fairly pleased about her self-control so far. Emma smelled especially fragrant now that she was pregnant. Mona had been right, though. The meditation had given her the skills she needed to resist the urge to bite down and drink. Plus, Andy was well fed. No ravenous hunger for her. "And speaking of my sister, there's no way she's not going to know about this. I wouldn't be surprised if she showed up in the next five minutes."

"I asked her to try to keep Josef alive for as long as possible. She said it would compromise how well she could perceive imminent threats but I begged really well." Emma smiled weakly. "We should have enough time. Now, you tell me what we have to do." Andy considered the human. She was a liability in a fight but Naomi did not have a vampire's speed. It was very possible that Emma would be exactly what Andy needed.

"When Mona's sight was taken, it was sealed inside a clear quartz crystal. In order to use the sight the girl Naomi gave it to had to have contact with it at all times. Josef's immortality is being kept in virtually the same way. The problem is that there is no way Naomi is going to wear it around her neck or any other convenient place. She probably had it inserted into her body. Any marks will have healed by now. However, I think I might be able to smell it. Dark magic suddenly has a much more noticeable scent for me."

"So we'll have to hold her down and take Josef's immortality out of her skin?" Emma asked, suddenly a little less sure about the wisdom of all this. She'd seen the way Naomi wielded power. She was lethal.

"That about covers it." Andy leaned over and tugged a dagger out from her boot. "You'll need this." Emma's eyes widened significantly and Andy laughed. "Don't worry, I'll be the one holding her down. I'd rather have your job but I'm going to do my best to keep you and your baby alive."

"If one of us doesn't make it, I just want to say thank you for doing this." Then she emptied the bottle into the toilet and flushed them all away. Andy quickly steered her out of the bathroom and into the hall.

"I need some time to figure out where she's hidden the crystal. Try to keep her talking," she ordered before vanishing down the hall, presumably to find a better spot to listen in. Emma rolled her shoulders and adjusted her grip on the dagger.

"Emmaline Bradford," a poisonously soft voice murmured. "I always knew you were trouble." For a second everything went dark and when the light returned, Naomi was standing in front of Emma. She was wearing casual slacks and a crisp Oxford shirt, both white as fresh snow. "Have you decided to avenge your lover before his heart even stops?" she asked, glancing towards the knife in her hand.

"The thought occurred to me," she admitted softly. "But right now I'm more interested in knowing why you hate me so much." Naomi raised a brow.

"What makes you think I feel anything besides annoyance for you, little human? I could kill you without breaking a sweat. In fact, I believe that is the best course of action now. You're too dangerous to be kept alive." Emma backed up as the witch approached her.

"Why is the little human too dangerous to be kept alive?" she asked quickly. Dammit, when was Andy going to come to the rescue? Hadn't she smelled where the stupid crystal was by now?

"Do you play chess, Emma?" Naomi inquired politely. Emma frowned.

"I'm familiar with the rules."

"Then you know that pawns are very useful things. They often serve as collateral damage for a higher cause. However, now and again they win the game. You were a valuable pawn, Miss Bradford. Unfortunately while you're still on the board then the game remains in a stalemate. I can't have one insignificant little pawn ruining my game. Understand?"

"What about Mona and Andy? Aren't they a little more threatening than I am?" Emma wasn't comfortable trying to stretch out a few seconds of conversation while Naomi was getting around to killing her. She needed Andy up there, preferably during that minute.

"I understand Mona and Andy. I can predict their moves and I know how to counter them. You're unpredictable and dangerous," Naomi bit out, obviously displeased by that fact. Emma smiled fleetingly.

"Making life easy for you isn't on my list of goals." Her enemy nodded.

"No, you seem to enjoy making things difficult. At least I won't have to worry about that anymore." Naomi moved to wrap a hand around Emma's throat.

"Back away from the human before I rip your throat out, Naomi," Andy hissed, eyes inhuman and mouth displaying sharp fangs. Naomi blinked and stepped away from Emma.

"Well, well, Andromeda, you've certainly moved up the food chain," she noted. Andy's eyes narrowed.

"Only one person calls me Andromeda and I want to kill him sometimes, too." She glanced at Emma. "Right leg, inner thigh." Naomi suddenly realized the true reason for her presence there.

"Oh, so it's your lover's immortality you're after," she murmured, unwilling distressed by Andy's knowledge of its location. "I hope you're prepared to die for it." Andy launched herself at the witch, throwing her body hard against the wall. Naomi's light blue eyes shimmered and the ceiling above Andy's head collapsed on top of her. Emma struck out. Naomi's head snapped back and she tasted blood in her mouth.

"You can't do much of anything without magic, can you?" Emma sneered, deliberately provoking her. Naomi raked her sharp nails across Emma's face and shoved her down the hall, towards the stairs.

"Let me guess. You want to make this an honest fight between women. But how can this be an honest fight if you have a vampire at your back?" She spun around and blasted Andy with something incredibly bright. The vampire howled, crouching against the wall. "There. Now we can get back to that fight you wanted to have."

It took Andy several minutes to think about something besides the cruel burn of UV rays. She blinked to clear her eyes then tried to find Emma. The scent of human blood hit her system hard and she'd leaped forward a few yards before she managed to restrain herself. Emma had a series of bloody scratches across her face. Naomi's mouth was bleeding. The two of them were locked together, Emma trying to keep Naomi's hands off her throat. Andy scooped up the knife Emma had dropped and swiftly plunged it into Naomi's shoulder. She screamed loudly, more animal than human. Emma went flying as the witch used her full power to deal with what she'd only considered pests before the more serious wound. The house began to shake and Andy knew what was coming next.

"Don't let them kiss you, Emma!" she managed to shout before Naomi struck her with black, rotting power. She fought as a witch now although her instincts insisted that she could tear Naomi's throat out and drink her blood. The witch in her knew better. She began to murmur incantations under her breath, calling up every power she knew while fending off what had nearly killed her sister.

Emma hadn't known what Andy was talking about until a translucent figure took shape in front of her. It looked wrong. Wrong in a way that very few things were. Unnatural and sickening. She tried to back away from it as the figure that looked only vaguely human bent to reach her mouth. She didn't know what a kiss would do but if Andy said it was bad then it was probably bad. Emma dodged past him, part of his arm going through her body. A deep cold set into her bones but she kept moving. They were in serious need of help.

"Brandon!" she shouted. He should have come up to investigate by now even if she'd told him to stay away. She needed an extra pair of hands. Emma hurtled down the stairs with the ghost/demon thing following close behind her. The pool of blood stopped her for a dangerous minute. Her ex-fiancé's body was on the ground, his mouth wide open and bloody as if someone had ripped vital organs out through his throat. She saw the second translucent figure and looked over her shoulder. The one that had followed her was reaching towards her face. Emma started running although she doubted that she could survive two of these things. She needed help. Fast.

A warm stream of air ruffled her hair and she heard high, shrill cries. Emma turned around. Her attackers were being torn apart by the wind. Mona stood at the other side of the room with her arms stretched out, palms up. Her lips were moving quickly but Emma was too far away to hear what she was saying. The things, whatever they were, vanished and Mona's arms fell. She pursed her lips as she looked at Emma.

"Once we get Josef back on his feet, don't imagine for one second that he won't hear about all this. You're in big trouble." Mona jerked her head towards the stairs and the two of them ran towards the sounds of fighting.

Emma wasn't the only one who got a helping hand. Andy fought off the web of black magic that was gradually shrinking around her. Thankfully she didn't need to breathe anymore. The fumes probably would have killed her. More plaster and wood from the hole Naomi had blasted through the roof landed on the floor as Mick fell through it. He snagged the back of her shirt and threw her against the wall. Their spells immediately dissipated, only the faint scent of magic lingering behind. Andy stared at him for a moment, completely speechless.

"What did I tell you about leaving the apartment?" Mick asked in a frustrated tone of voice. Andy began to glare at him.

"Are you seriously going to stand there and scold me after what you did this afternoon? I can nearly get myself killed if I want to, you overbearing jackass!" she snarled at him. There was a loud crashing sound as Mona sent Naomi flying into a mirror in the hall. She sent a quick reproachful look at the two arguing vampires.

"Could you two please focus?" Emma jerked the dagger out of Naomi's shoulder and the witch screamed again. She tried to reach Emma but the vampires had already moved to pin her down.

"Right leg, inner thigh," Emma repeated softly and Mona helped to keep Naomi's right inner thigh in reach. Emma couldn't let herself hesitate. If she hesitated, she'd lose her nerve. Without pausing for thought she began to cut through the soft material of Naomi's slacks then pierced her skin.

"Deeper," Mona instructed quickly, sweating and panting from the effort it took to block Naomi's magic. Emma shoved the knife deeper and immediately felt something that wasn't just blood and muscle. She hooked the blade beneath what she assumed was the crystal and started to pry it out of Naomi's leg. The light bulbs in the hall exploded as Naomi screamed. Emma was hit by something she couldn't see and was blown away from the frighteningly powerful witch as were the vampires holding her down. Before Naomi could make a run for it, Mona gripped the dagger and twisted. The crystal plunked to the floor. She met Naomi's malevolent eyes and her own widened. Mona tried to move away, to move back but she didn't have enough time. Naomi took the knife still in Mona's hand and shoved it deep into her stomach and up towards her heart.

"No!" Andy shrieked, moving to them in a blur. Naomi threw Mona at her sister and attempted to retrieve the crystal that had been pried from her skin. Emma reached it first, clutching it in a tight fist. Then there was no time. Mick was headed for her, murder in his eyes. Naomi pulled magic around her and swiftly vanished. "Mona, keep looking at me! Mona!" Andy was holding her sister in her arms and trying to stem the flow of blood from her wounded stomach. Emma wasn't a vampire but she needed no enhanced senses to tell that the older witch was dying. Her breathing was labored as she stared up into Andy's eyes.

"W-we did good," she whispered hoarsely, a pained smile on her lips. "Love you, Meda." Andy's heart caught at the name Mona hadn't called her since she was eight.

"Don't start talking like that. You aren't dying. I won't let you die." Andy's desperate gaze studied the gaping wound on Mona's stomach then went to her own wrist. "I'll fix it."

"Andromeda, no," Mick said, grasping her wrist before she could bite down. "You're too young. You'd just end up killing her."

"Then you do it. Turn her. You have to turn her," Andy told him, her voice bordering on the edge of hysteria. Mick tried to move away from her but Andy's grip was too tight. If he'd been less than human then his wrist bones would have been ground into dust.

"I can't do that. I wouldn't be saving her."

"Don't you dare make this about your stupid tortured existence, you son of a bitch! She's my sister. You'd be saving her for me. Can't you give me at least that?" she begged. He couldn't move and it was his hesitation that robbed him of any choice.

"Meda," the dying witch breathed. Both vampires could hear the heart in her chest cease to beat. Her lungs no longer drew in air and her body died. Andy stared into Mona's empty blue eyes, still locked on her sister's face. The vampire's entire body shook. Her mouth opened and a sound that was barely human leaked out. It was a moan, a hopeless cry. Grief didn't begin to cover it. Andy curled around her sister's body, arms locked around Mona's shoulders as she wept.

Emma tasted a salty wetness on her lips and realized she was crying. Her fingers tightened on the crystal as she pressed it close against her chest. Josef was going to live. Brandon and Mona were dead. She sat down, her legs unwilling to hold her up any longer, and began to sob.

Mick could feel the potency of Andy's grief. It was like a tight fist squeezing his heart. He tried to reach out and touch her shoulder. His fledgling's head reared up and she snarled, fangs bared and eyes more than hostile. Loathing rolled off of her in waves directed straight towards him. In that moment, she hated him more than any other living being on the planet.

And so did he.


	24. The Mending

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Mending

"I called the emergency number Josef gave me," Emma told Mick while they waited downstairs for Andy to rejoin the land of the living. So far it had been fifteen minutes and she'd shown no signs of recovery. "Someone will be by to clean up Brandon's house and… And Brandon." She wasn't sure what to feel about her friend's death. Had he been her friend? Emma didn't know. Maybe there was some poetic justice in his dying by Naomi's hands, although not directly.

"Yeah, the Cleaner's good at that," Mick commented, eyes fixed on the staircase. Emma squeezed his arm gently.

"She's going to need some time. Josef isn't. I'm not sure what to expect when he becomes a vampire again and I'd like your help." Mick considered that. She had a point but he wasn't eager to leave Andy alone with her sister's body.

"Go." The two of them turned to look up at the top of the stairs where Andy was standing with Mona cradled in her arms. She moved and a second later she was standing besides them. "She needs you," Andy told him, not meeting his eyes. "I don't." It was all Emma could do not to shiver. The ice in the witch's voice was sharp and bitter.

"How do I get this thing to release Josef's immortality?" she asked, holding up the crystal. Emma didn't exactly want to bother Andy with questions but she needed to know. Mona was dead. Josef wasn't. It was a cold way of seeing things.

"It just needs to come in contact with his skin," Andy replied, glancing at her eyes briefly. There was pain in Emma's heart, too. Pain and grief but a lingering sense of hope. After all, she hadn't lost her entire world. On the contrary, Mona had died saving it. Andy wished she could hate the other woman for that. "What belongs to Josef wants to get back to him. It won't take more than a second. After that, I don't know what will happen. You're going to have to play it by ear."

"Where are you going?" Mick asked. He wanted to reach out and touch her. He wanted to explain why… But he had no real explanation. If he touched her she would probably bite off his hand.

"There are things to be done for my sister," And responded flatly. She began to reach for the doorknob. Mick pressed his hand against the door to hold it closed.

"You don't need to do this alone," he told her gently.

"Why not? I'm going to have to get used to doing things alone. Might as well start now." Andy looked at him. Her eyes were rage-filled and dangerous. It was like Naomi was staring out at him through Andy's face. Mick was startled enough to move back a few steps. Without hesitating the witch flew out the door and disappeared into the late afternoon light.

"I felt like that when my mother died," Emma whispered, staring after the immortal. Mick took her arm and led her out of the house.

"We need to get moving." They both agreed it would be best to move Josef out of her café in case the transition from human to vampire became violent. Mick suggested his apartment but Emma thought it would be easier for Josef if they were at his house. Emma rode in the back of Mick's convertible once they had Josef with them. She kept the crystal away from his skin although it was more tempting than she thought it would be to change him immediately. Mona had stabilized his condition but he was still comatose. There had to be a rule somewhere that said Josef couldn't ever look vulnerable and weak. Emma didn't know where it was written but she knew it had to exist. This pain in her chest, this fear, was too unnatural. Soon he'd be a vampire again and she wouldn't have to worry about his health.

No, she'd be worrying about her own health. Emma smiled faintly as she touched Josef's cheek with her fingertips. He was going to have a lot to deal with when he woke up. She wondered if he would be happier with a boy or a girl. Another Josef in the world might be a bit much. They should have a girl. The image of Josef snarling at any mortal boy coming to date his daughter made her giggle. Mick glanced at her in the rearview mirror, uncertain if he'd really heard her laughing. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I was just thinking about what sort of father Josef is going to be," Emma told him, not looking away from her unconscious lover. Mick quickly scented the air and realized that Emma was pregnant. During all the chaos, he hadn't exactly paid attention to the little details.

"Are you nervous about telling him?" he asked, winding his way up towards Josef's house. Emma shrugged but he could smell the apprehension gnawing at her hopeful dreams for the future. "Don't be. He'll be happy about this." Mick was his best friend. He knew what he was talking about most of the time.

"I want him to be happy," she murmured. Josef's house finally came into view. Mick carried Josef while Emma opened doors and shooed whatever staff was lingering there. She'd been here during Josef's week as a healthy, functioning human. It had felt like home for a reason she hadn't been able to pin down. Once Josef told her she'd redecorated the place, covering stone with warm colors and replacing stiff furniture with cushiony sofas, Emma understood why she liked it. "Put him on the couch. I'll pull the curtains." For a vampire, Josef seemed to have an unnatural liking for windows. Emma covered the very large window/sliding door in the living room then made a quick run for the kitchen. "Will he need any particular blood type?"

"Just get anything," Mick told her. He studied Josef. His friend's heartbeat was weak but constant. They had time. He was going to be all right. Mick ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh of relief.

"So I got four packs and I decided to take a little of everything just in case. I wish I remembered what his favorite blood type is," she said, clearly frustrated by her inability to recall.

"It's probably yours," Mick replied lightly, intending to make her smile. Then he realized the significance of his words. "Yours. Emma, if he wakes up with a fledgling's hunger you're the first person he'll want to bite." She paled.

"What? But I… He wouldn't…" Emma trailed off. What did she know? She couldn't even remember him as a vampire. For all she knew, Emma was Josef's favorite snack. "I want to be here," she said at last. Mick struggled with that for a minute, trying to come up with an idea that would satisfy them both.

"Okay, I have an idea. You press the crystal to his skin, wait to see if it takes and then run. I'll keep him here. Lock yourself upstairs in a room with a lot of sunlight and stay there until I come and get you." He held out his hands and, after a moment, Emma gave him the packets of blood she'd retrieved.

"Deal. I don't feel like dying today." Especially not after surviving Naomi. That would just be sad. "Show time," she murmured, approaching Josef with the crystal in her hand. It would only take a second, Andy had said. He would be himself again. But who was he? She only remembered him as a human. Josef the vampire was an enigma to her, a shadow in her memory. Well, Andy hadn't changed much when she became a vampire. At least Emma didn't think she had. The witch hadn't acted differently. Maybe it had been an act to make Emma feel better. "Will he be the same?" she asked Mick, looking over her shoulder.

"If anything, he'll be better," he told her with a smile. Emma's head reeled. The thought of a better Josef was a little overwhelming. How could he get any better? She took a deep breath then pressed the crystal into Josef's hand before she could think about it anymore. "Emma, go," Mick said, pulling her back.

"Why?" she asked but Josef answered the question for her. His body convulsed and he nearly fell off the couch. Mick could hear the distress in the human's system, blood pumping too fast through his heart before everything stopped. And began again. Slowly Josef's eyes opened to reveal the colorless iris of a vampire. "Oh." After that soft exclamation, Emma took Mick's advice and ran for the stairs.

"Josef," Mick said, tearing open one of the packets of blood to distract the vampire from the enticing sound of a fleeing human. His friend's head immediately swung toward the scent of blood. He hadn't responded to his name yet and that didn't bode well. Right now Josef wasn't himself. He was purely vampire and nothing else. That made him dangerous.

Emma couldn't hear much past the steady rhythm of her pulse roaring through her head. She wasn't exactly afraid. She was just extremely nervous. With a shaking hand she pushed a loose wave of hair behind her ear and managed to scrape her nails across one of the scratches Naomi had put on her face. Emma's forehead stung and she pulled her hand back. There was blood under her fingernails. _"And look at that head wound. Those do tend to bleed a lot, don't they?"_ She shook her head at the memory of Naomi's voice. Everything had gotten quiet. Really, really quiet. That was never a good sign.

While Josef was feasting on the blood Mick had thrown to him without much care for where it spilled, his entire body had gone rigid. The scent reached Mick's nose only a second later. Blood, O negative, was on the air. Emma's blood. As Josef began to follow the scent Mick tackled him. "Emma, run!"

She did as she was told while blood trickled down her skin. Emma pressed her hand against the scratch but she was pretty sure that wouldn't block the scent. If a vampire could smell that she was pregnant then one could probably track her without much trouble. Damn, she was screwed if Mick couldn't hold Josef back. There was a very loud snarl from a few yards behind her. She turned around in time to see Josef grip the younger vampire who'd been trying to restrain him by the throat and toss him down the stairs. Mick's body made a loud thump sound. Emma couldn't hear anything following that.

Oh, yeah. She was screwed.

Before Josef's pale eyes turned on her she made a grab for the nearest door handle and put herself out of his line of sight. There wasn't any time to pause for thought when a vampire was tailing her. She headed straight for the window and hoped Josef was too weak to put up with the sun. The door was torn off its hinges about two seconds later. Emma shrieked and threw her bodyweight against the window, pushing it open. Sunlight poured into the room. A soft hiss reached her ears and she glanced back to see what had happened. Josef was crouched in the shadows at the other end of the room, instincts telling him to stay away from the light.

"Josef," she whispered. He looked at her but she thought it was more in response to her voice than anything else. Emma stared back at him. There was blood smeared across his mouth. A few drops had even stained his pale blue and white striped shirt. "So this is you? Well, I realize it's not entirely you but… It's part of you." Those pale eyes continued to stare, watching every move she made. Emma smiled weakly. "You're sure a lot quieter than you were before." She blinked and he was standing against the wall diagonal to her, still out of the sun but much closer. Her pulse began to race. "And you're a hell of a lot faster," she mumbled, edging away from him. He frowned at her and it was so much like Josef that it made her pause.

She wasn't sure what to do when he braved the sunlight. He moved toward her slowly, turning his face away from the glaring light. Emma decided to stay still. He could catch her if he wanted to, anyway. Besides, there was something in the way Josef moved that seemed reassuring. It was possible that he was just trying to lull her into a sense of security so he could kill her. Then he looked up at her. The desperation in his eyes didn't look like hunger. _"I took blood from you, melded my life to yours." _That's what he'd told her, wasn't it? There had been some kind of connection between them. When he became human it was broken. But now that he was a vampire again, did he feel the lack of it?

Either he just needed her touch or she was dead. She really had nothing to lose. "Josef," she said, hoping that repeating his name might snap him out of this. Emma moved forward and tried to touch him. Josef snatched her arm then jerked her into his arms and buried his fangs in her neck. She let out a startled gasp. It stung, hurt. Suddenly she felt hot and sensitive. Her body had tightened and arched, pressing instinctively closer. Emma gripped his arms while he took nourishment and comfort from her blood.

And she remembered. Everything. All of it.

"Mine," Josef whispered as he moved his lips away from her neck and placed them gently against her mouth.

Mick finally regained consciousness after having a four hundred year old vampire toss him down a flight of stairs. He didn't know how long he'd been out or if Emma was even still alive. Without wasting any more time he darted up the stairs. The sound of a woman's groans and a zipper being pulled down made him pause. Mick sniffed the air and the lust hit him like a blow. Suddenly Josef's behavior made sense. After all, the vampire had explained it once before.

Emma was his mate. Not sensing her, feeling her, seeing her would drive him mad. The connection had been broken but it hadn't freed either of them, Josef least of all. It had left a hole. Now Josef was fixing it. Mick quickly backed away from the door. He did not need to hang around out here and listen to his best friend have sex. No, he had a fledgling to find and make peace with. He'd give the happy couple his congratulations later.

The world was suddenly so completely right. Emma had two very neat holes in her neck, there were bruises on her hips from where Josef had gripped a little too hard and her underwear was torn. She grinned. Her life was perfect.

"That was fantastic," she said, curling up against Josef's side. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"I'd say so. You have no idea how good it felt to bite someone again, especially your own delicious self." Josef ran his tongue along his fangs. Damn, he'd missed them. Then he paused. "I didn't hurt you, did I? I was kind of beyond control."

"No, I'm fine," Emma reassured him. She bit her lip thoughtfully. Well, now was as good a time as any and she wanted to tell him before he smelled it. "I have a surprise for you." She took his hand and placed it over her stomach. After enjoying his confused expression for a moment, Emma took the plunge. "I'm pregnant." He continued to stare at her.

"Pregnant?" The word began to make sense to him. Pregnant. Emma was pregnant. She was going to have a child. And she wouldn't look this happy about it if it were any child but his.

"Whoa!" she shrieked when Josef moved in a blur and spun her around the room. The smile on his face wouldn't have been that wide if she'd told him he'd sealed a trillion dollar deal. He was laughing and holding her tight against him. "I love you, Josef, but I'm getting that dizzy and disoriented feeling. Add that to pregnancy and you won't get a happy woman."

"Sorry, right. I have to remember you're more delicate now," Josef said, putting her gently on the ground. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm not made of glass." Emma snapped her fingers. "Oh, added bonus. I remember everything from before the accident." His mouth sealed over hers in a hot, happy kiss.

This day was brilliant. Mona, wherever she was, would be happy for her. Emma knew that and took comfort in it.

Now that she thought about it, Mona would be a good name for a little girl. Nothing could be more appropriate.


	25. The Edge of a Knife

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Edge of a Knife

Andy had not cried when her mother died. She'd never really known her. Fiona Brodrick had been a hands-off kind of mother, leaving her children alone except for regular lessons in magic. Maybe it would have been different if she hadn't kept moving them around and devoted herself to rooting out the abusers of magic. The past was past and Andy couldn't work up any real regrets when she thought about her mother. They hadn't been meant for closeness.

It was the woman lying dead in her arms that she'd loved more than any other, that she held the most loyalty for and would sell her soul to have back. Andy didn't care about the sun beginning to set in the distance. She didn't care that the tide would be rising and where she sat would be flooded. She couldn't hear the roll of the waves or the crying of gulls. Andy could only be aware of her sister. The scent of death, the threat of rigor mortis.

Mona couldn't be dead. It was supposed to be Andy. She was supposed to die and Mona would survive. After all, Mona was the responsible one. She was more capable, more gifted. Andy was impulsive, more often out of control than in it. Somehow Fate had gotten confused. Andy was going to live forever while her sister hadn't even made it past twenty-five. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. She let out a humorless laugh. Fair. Andy wasn't a child anymore. She knew that such a thing did not exist. But pain did. Oh, pain was a living, breathing thing that made her supposedly superior immortal body ache.

"You remind me of someone I once knew." At the sound of Naomi's voice Andy immediately changed. With her fangs bared she abandoned her sister's body and tried to attack. She passed through Naomi's image and bashed herself on the rocks. "Don't be so rash, Andromeda. I wouldn't appear to you in solid form. I'm not suicidal. You could very well kill me in your state and use any means to do it."

"I could have killed you before," Andy snarled, glaring at Naomi's projected self. The other witch shook her head.

"You weren't willing to do absolutely everything before now. I probably made a mistake in killing Mona. I've made another me."

"I am nothing like you!" Andy shouted as she jumped to her feet. She wished Naomi were solid. She wanted to kill her. She wanted to tear her apart and burn the pieces.

"I had a sister once," Naomi went on calmly as if Andy hadn't interrupted her. "I loved her a great deal. When she was killed, I went mad. I took revenge on everyone responsible. I destroyed their lives. To this day, I can still hear them screaming."

"And you paid for it," Andy said, knowing all too well how the story went. She also began to see how love and pain were dangerous things to mix. They caused people to do terrible things. Mona had been right. Naomi had acted exactly as any human would when she abused her gift so long ago.

She had acted as Andy wanted to at this moment.

"I do not regret what I did nor do I bow to the will of your gods," Naomi spat, temper flashing briefly in her eyes. "My sister was precious to me. My whole family was dear to my heart and they were taken away. I killed their killers."

"As I will kill you." The witches stared at each other for a moment. Then Naomi smiled.

"I thought so. But will you kill everyone responsible? You do realize that if Emma hadn't roped you into that half-baked scheme to get her precious Josef's immortality back, your sister would still be alive. It was her fault as much as it was mine. Your fault, too. I think you know that."

"Emma did not mean to do this," Andy said, even though she held resentment towards her for just what Naomi had said. She never thought that Naomi was that perceptive. Of course, they hadn't exactly spent a lot of time together when they weren't trying to kill each other. "We were going to deal with this ourselves. If you hadn't summoned your dark magics then Mona wouldn't have realized what was going on!"

"And what about Mick St. John?" she asked slyly. Andy stiffened.

"I don't care about Mick St. John. He has nothing to do with me and never will." Naomi laughed derisively.

"Oh, come off it. He's your sire. You'll always be connected by blood and by Fate. So what are your feelings for him? How do you see the vampire who refused to save your sister's life?"

"You don't deserve any of my time," Andy replied flatly, kneeling besides her sister and taking her back into her arms.

"Ooh, denial. That's a fine thing. Let that anger burn inside you until there is no other choice but to explode. If you're going to kill me then I might as well take some comfort in the fact that my presence in the world will not be erased. I leave you behind, bitter and alone. How long until you become what I am?" Andy stared down at her dead sister's face and, through the intense anger that Naomi was inspiring, began to think. This wasn't right. Something about this was not right. Why the hell would Naomi be talking to her about this? What was the point?

"You don't know what you're talking about." It was a lame reply but it was meant to be. She was waiting for something. One word.

"You need to learn acceptance, Andromeda." There it was. Andy turned and stared at Naomi's image. The anger had drained out of her face.

"You said that before but you looked different," she whispered. Naomi smiled gently, the light blue of her eyes darkening to a warmer shade. Her face changed, as did the rest of her, to match the dead witch lying on the beach.

"I had you going for a minute there," Mona pointed out, sitting besides her sister and looking out towards the ocean. "I'm glad you picked the ocean. Of course, you always knew what I liked the most."

"You were my sister. I paid attention." Andy stared at her, shock mixing with joy. "How?"

"I love you. That's all I really need," she replied as she turned to look into Andy's face. "I wanted to point out the danger you were in, Meda. Naomi was a young woman very much like you. Gifted and courageous but also impatient. And she had an awful temper."

"Thanks for the comparison," Andy mumbled sarcastically. Too bad she couldn't dismiss Mona's point.

"The grief became rage for her. The rage became so destructive that no one could come into her life without being touched by her poison. I was not going to enjoy my afterlife if I knew that was happening to you." Mona studied her body. "The pain is only temporary, you know. It didn't hurt to die. The staying hurt more than the dying."

"But I wanted you to stay," Andy whispered.

"I will stay with you," Mona promised, seeing the sorrow all too plainly. "I will always be with you."

"I already know that!" Andy snapped then closed her mouth, ashamed of herself. Mona smiled in response.

"Don't stop now. You need to get it out and I'm here to listen. Go on." Andy closed her eyes. Why was it her sister could be insufferably patient no matter the circumstances? Would she ever learn that skill?

"I know you'll be with me. It's not a matter of what's happened to you. You're safe and happy and free. I'm not. I'm stuck here without you for hundreds of years, if I manage to live that long. And I need you. I've never lived without you before and I don't want to start. I know it's selfish but the loss of you, the change… hurts. And it will always hurt. You came here in Naomi's shape to face me with why I can't kill her to avenge you. If I kill her, I become her. If I start looking for people to blame, to punish, then I won't ever recover."

"It's never a matter of knowing," Mona said quietly.

"Acceptance. I know but I don't… I'm not ready to let go of you," Andy told her, reaching to touch Mona's hand before realizing there was nothing there to touch. She sighed.

"I understand. I love you, Meda. Just remember that, know that I wouldn't want you to mourn me. Please, celebrate my life when you're ready. Don't grieve because it's over." Mona looked up as the sun dipped down below the horizon. "But take your time. Everyone deserves an opportunity to let out the pain of loss. It's only human."

"I'm not human," Andy pointed out dryly. Mona tilted her head to the side.

"No, you're not. You're Andy. You'll have to figure out who that is on your own."

It was midnight and Mick still hadn't found Andy. He knew she hadn't left town while Naomi was still on the loose but that left a lot of ground to cover. No bodies had mysteriously appeared at the morgue so Mick had to assume Mona's body was still with Andy. Rigor mortis had to have set in by now. Holding onto an obviously dead body couldn't be pleasant, even for a mourner. So where had Andy taken her sister?

Andy probably hadn't fed since that morning, either. His primary concern was that a hungry, vengeful and tormented fledgling was strolling around L.A. and picking off tourists. He'd come home to check the news. Hopefully no bodies had been found on the street mysteriously drained of blood. Once he reached his floor, Mick knew he'd been looking in all the wrong places. Andy's scent was coming from his apartment along with the smell of very hard liquor.

"And he's back," she muttered when the door swung open and the scent of angry vampire reached her nose. Andy didn't bother getting up from the couch since he was standing in front of her in less than three seconds.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Lots of places," she replied, fingers wrapped loosely around the neck of a bottle filled with a clear liquid that could only be vodka. "You're going to have to be more specific. Where the hell have I been since when?"

"Since you walked off with your sister," Mick specified, telling himself that if he started yelling at her it wouldn't do any good. She was too far-gone to care at the moment.

"Oh, I stole candy from children and terrorized the populace with my scary fangs. It's what I do every Wednesday night," she said blithely. Mick squeezed his eyes shut in a bid for patience. He heard her sigh and when he opened her eyes she'd left the couch and started moving around his kitchen. "Drinking didn't do much good. I took one sip then got fed up with the cliché of drinking my troubles away. I thought about smoking but there really wasn't much point since I hate the smell." She poured the vodka down the drain, sighing again.

"Where did you go, Andy?" Mick asked. She wasn't nearly as angry now as she had been before. Instead she gave the impression of being extremely tired.

"The beach. Mona wanted her ashes spread across the ocean. I talked to her for along time before I cremated her. Then I just walked." Andy shrugged. "I liked the other story better. It's more exciting."

"I'm happier with the truth," he said, relaxing at last. She glanced at him and there was an edge to her voice that hadn't been there before.

"I am, too. So tell me the truth, Mick. Why didn't you turn my sister when I begged you to do it?" His eyes widened and Andy found a bitter satisfaction in his obvious discomfort.

"She wouldn't have wanted this. I didn't mean for it to happen to you, either."

"But it did happen to me," Andy pointed out, fingers tightening on the empty bottle. "I asked you to turn her. I've known her all my life while you only knew her for a little over a week. Would it be safe to assume that I knew what she wanted better than you did?"

"This isn't living, Andromeda," Mick said with a note of finality. Conversation over, end of story. The bottle shattered in Andy's hand and her fingers closed over the shards of glass.

"What do you think you do every day, Mick? What the hell have I been doing for the past week? We live. We fight and we cry and we love. I don't know how else to define living." Andy opened her palm and calmly picked the glass out. She hated how her emotions kept jumping from one extreme to another. She wanted to rage at him but at the same time she just didn't have the energy for it.

"I don't see it that way." Andy looked up into his eyes.

"Mona once told me that you and I had to learn the same lesson. Acceptance." Mick wasn't sure what he was doing but he knew he wanted to touch her, to let her know that she wasn't alone. He took her hand, running his thumb over the newly healed skin. Her pulse fluttered beneath his fingers. Andy jerked her hand away. "Enough."

"I care about you," he told her, continuing to reach out. She moved back towards the stairs.

"I don't want to hear this, Mick. I can't take it right now." Or ever. It would be so much easier to handle her feelings if there wasn't some tiny, glimmering hope that what she felt for him could be returned.

"Just listen," Mick said. He moved in a blur and took Andy's face in his hands. "It's complicated."

"No, it isn't," Andy corrected him, struggling to break free. "You love Beth and you feel responsible for me. It's not complicated at all." He locked his fingers in her hair so that when she jerked back she ended up tugging at her own hair. She let out a temperamental hiss, fangs bared. Mick growled in response and backed her up against the wall.

"You're wrong," he said as his eyes changed to a predatory shade of white. "This is very complicated. But not right now." He kissed her. His fangs cut against her lips and she opened her mouth to the taste of blood and man. Andy gripped his shirt, accidentally ripping through the material with her nails. She couldn't concentrate on controlling her strength, on controlling anything. Mick lifted her up and she wrapped her legs tight around his waist.

He didn't have to be careful with her. He didn't have to worry about hurting her or breaking her or pushing too far. Mick cut his tongue on Andy's fangs and growled when she began to suck at the wound. The slow grind he'd started against her body cut deeper into her restraint. She pulled away from his mouth and arched her neck, pressing his lips against the skin. He scraped his fangs down her throat. "Andromeda."

"Do it," she begged. "Please, just do it." Mick couldn't say no this time. He bit down, groaning at the blood filling his mouth. Andy closed her eyes tightly and allowed herself to pretend. She pretended this could happen again, that there was no Beth.

Most of all, she pretended he loved her in the same way she was beginning to love him.


	26. The Bitter End

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Bitter End

Andy found herself in an extremely awkward position. She was the unofficial commander of a small group of warriors. Well, maybe the term 'warriors' was being used a little too liberally here. Several of them were but others were not. Ellen, Beth and Emma were definitely not trained killers. Josef and Mick were a whole other story. At least Ellen had speed and strength to make up for her lack of training. Emma was pregnant and, at the moment, Josef was trying to put her on the sidelines. Since Josef was a vampire again and had a fierce protective streak, Andy wasn't going anywhere near that argument if she could help it.

As for Beth… Well, talk about your awkward positions. Andy had called her up to Josef's house along with everyone else so they could go over the master plan. She felt they needed every available pair of hands. Too bad this pair of hands had a deep love for Mick who had spent the night with Andy two days ago. It wasn't something they'd talked about. She refused to talk about it. Honestly, what could she say to him? 'Thanks for the hot, sweaty vampire sex?' No, definitely not. No go.

"I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about your sister," Beth said while Emma and Josef continued to verbally swipe at each other. The weird part was that Andy could feel the love between them. Apparently arguing resulted in warm, fuzzy feelings with those two.

"Thank you." It was a pity that Beth was not an evil, soul-stealing harpy. No, she had to be warm and kind. "I saw your interview on BuzzWire with one of the teens that had been living at the club. It was clever, making the story about all the problems for kids who get shoved into the 'system' and how reforms need to be made."

"And not one mention of witches or vampires or a battle to save the human race," Beth added, smiling a little.

"Well, battle to save the human race might be exaggerating slightly," Andy said. She looked outside, noticing that the sun had nearly set. Since the plan was going into effect come midnight, it was about time that she got started explaining it. To do that she needed to get Josef and Emma to shut up. Not a task she wanted. "Uh, hey Emma? Josef? Could you save this argument for later?" Their eyes swung towards her.

"I won't have Emma involved in this," Josef told Andy firmly. Andy had never met this version of him. The I'm-four-hundred-and-I-can-destroy-you-without-blinking Josef was more intimidating than sarcastic, human Josef.

"I am not going to sit on the sidelines like some helpless female while you go off and fight a psychotic witch who nearly killed you two days ago!" Emma retorted. Andy whistled loudly and held up her hands.

"Okay, okay, we know your separate opinions on the subject. The fact is that you're both in considerably more danger than the rest of us. I know this because," Andy began to raise her voice over their fervent protests, "Naomi will be wanting Josef's immortality back and this time she'll take it by force. This would be kind of good for the team because that would take a hell of a lot of dark magic, making her vulnerable. The bad side is that, well, we just got Josef's immortality back and it would be a pain in the ass to go through that again." And lose yet another friend and sister.

"And why am I in more danger than everyone else?" Emma asked, eyes narrowed with confusion.

"You just piss Naomi off for some reason," Andy said with a shrug. "So you're a target. If Josef weren't a target I'd have him watch your back. In this case, I think Ellen would be better. I don't think Naomi really knows she exists. Uh, sorry." Ellen just smiled.

"I'm not offended. I tend to slide under the radar, anyway." She preferred it that way.

"Mick, Josef, I want you two together while we're doing this. I'm going out on a limb here and guessing you've fought side by side before and know each other's moves well enough," Andy said, looking between the two vampires.

"What about me?" Beth asked, raising a hand.

"I'll need your help in the beginning then you can team up Ellen and Emma."

"And what, exactly, is the plan?" Mick asked, his eyes cool when he looked at her. It took a lot of control to keep his appearance so unaffected. She'd moved out of his apartment when he was dead to the world in his freezer. Josef had let him know that Andy was using one of his freezers for guests but Mick hadn't come by to demand an explanation. He already knew why. Mick glanced at Beth and his heart ached. Loving Andy would have made more sense. If he'd met her, known her before Beth… There wasn't any point in speculating. Life was what it was.

"Now that everyone's calmed down, I'll be happy to tell you," Andy said. She gestured outside. "It's all happening on Josef's patio."

"Well, I'm glad you checked with me beforehand," he said dryly. Andy smiled with only a little guilt tugging at her conscience.

"It's appropriate. According to the stories I've heard, Naomi's plan went into affect when you four," she said, gesturing to Emma, Josef, Beth and Mick, "were out on that patio. Emma got a call then everything went downhill from there. Plus, Naomi stole your immortality there, Josef. I cleaned up the damage but things like that leave an imprint. And there's a pool."

"Is that good for purification or something?" Beth asked, the reporter in her innately curious. Andy sighed.

"You have no idea how much I want to say that it's just because I like pools but we don't have time for jokes. Water's one of the elements and I like having those on hand at all times. Since we've got vampires, including myself, fire is inadvisable. Naomi's going to be wielding it so convenient jumps into the pool will cut down on how much ash we leave behind."

"All right, so we have a battleground," Mick said. "We still don't have a plan."

"Oh, keep your shirt on," Andy muttered. Well… he didn't have to keep his shirt on. Shut up, hormones! She cleared her throat. "Anyway, basically, I'm going to cast a circle but leave it partially open until Naomi shows up. Then I need one of you to toss her into the circle, I'll seal it and the two of us will duke it out."

"And while you're single-handedly fighting our mutual enemy, the rest of us will what? Watch?" Josef asked, lifting a brow in question. Andy shook her head.

"Oh, no. There'll be something to keep you occupied. I need you guys to fight whatever she summons up in the first few seconds before she's locked in the circle. And I can promise that it's going to be bad."

"Will it be like those things at Brandon's house? What were they, exactly?" Emma inquired. She could still the image of them in her head. They hadn't been human or vampire or witch. They were something else entirely.

"Between the living and the dead, there is a space," Andy explained although even she didn't completely understand the concept. "Most people refer to it as a curtain during Samhain, er, I mean Halloween but it's probably a bit larger than just a curtain most of the time. Things live there and they don't like being disturbed. Naomi likes pulling them out, letting them play with her enemies. She'll probably pull one or two of them but they're fairly easy to dismiss since they hate being in this plane of existence. We'll set up some electric fans to blow through their essence and Emma, you can send them off." Emma's eyes widened.

"Sorry, what?"

"You have magic in you. Not well trained but existing. That's common of everyone but I think you'd pack the most punch since you're pregnant. There's something about pregnancy that makes a woman more in tune with the natural world. 'I free you' should about cover it," she added. "And concentrate your will on it. Now, personally, I'd be more worried about whatever solid things she throws at you. If she has any kids left, they'll be there and armed with silver and possibly a flamethrower. A few animated corpses, too, I'd bet."

"Zombies?" Beth asked with no little incredulity. "Zombies exist, too?"

"Manipulated bodies or animated corpses are generally the preferred term," Andy said with a deep sigh. Freaking Hollywood. "They're dead so they don't feel pain. Leave them to the vampires since an animated corpse needs to be torn apart before it can be stopped. Shooting them won't make a difference." Andy blinked as the light from the sun abruptly disappeared. "I need to set up before we do this thing."

"Hold it," Mick said, stepping forward. "Why midnight?"

"Witching hour, duh," Andy muttered as she picked up her bag and headed for the glass sliding door.

"And why is Naomi going to show up?" She looked over her shoulder and grinned.

"Because she's desperate, angry and wanting to kill us all. Not to mention the fact that I've been taunting her about how I'll end her once she gets up here tonight. There's no way in hell she'd wouldn't be here and make herself out to be a coward. Vanity, Mick, is a wonderful thing to manipulate and Naomi has it in spades."

They had about four hours until midnight. Andy spent the time outside, clearing the area and drawing a circle on the concrete. She deliberately left a gap in the line. Finally, she sat down in the middle and began to concentrate.

Josef spent his time with Emma. He didn't want her fighting and he hoped with a little persuasion she'd see it his way. Arguing never worked. Instead he tugged her into the kitchen and began to kiss her. She was surprised at first but the heat began to set in. Emma wrapped her arms around Josef's neck, moving her lips gently over his. She didn't know what this was all about but she didn't mind it. A good, thorough kiss was just the thing to indulge in before risking her life. And her baby's. That didn't weigh well with her but she couldn't stay out of this fight. Living with herself after that just wouldn't be possible, especially if Josef died.

"Emma," he murmured, dropping light kisses on the skin of her neck. "I love you. And I'm begging you, stay out of this fight." Emma slapped a hand on his chest and pulled back to glare at him.

"Oh, so that's what this is about. No chance, Josef. I have just as much reason to fight as you do and I intend to be out there." She saw his next move coming before his eyes even changed. "And you'll be risking the baby if you try to drain me to the point of unconsciousness."

"Not if I was careful," he muttered. "The baby is being risked in any case." But she'd called his bluff. There was no way in hell Josef would ever harm the only child he was going to have during his extremely long life. Emma wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

"How would you feel if I staked you in order to keep you out of the fight?" she asked. His low growl was answer enough. "We're in this together, Josef. It started with the two of us and it's going to end that way."

"No," Josef corrected, pressing his lips to the top of her head. "It will end with three of us."

Mick had learned from Andy and from Mona that a vampire was not necessarily a monster. Everything was about choices in this world. Magic, goodness, love. Beth could die tonight. He had barely managed to keep her out of his world but here she was now, ready to die for it. What he'd done with Andy couldn't be erased or forgotten. Sadly, as they'd both known, it changed nothing. Mick walked to Beth's side and gently touched her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he told her before he lost his nerve. Ellen looked between vampire and mortal then decided to set up the fans herself. Beth was going to be busy for a while. She hurried off, leaving them alone.

"You're sorry?" she asked, not sure if she should trust this or not.

"For everything," Mick continued. "I hurt you by keeping you out of my life. I couldn't accept that I'm not human anymore and I thought I wasn't good enough for you. Maybe loving you still doesn't make me good enough but I don't care. I want to try again." Beth didn't know why but she was sure this had something to do with Andy. If that were true then she'd owe the female vamp for the rest of time. She leaned forward and kissed him, giggling when he swung her up into his arms.

Why couldn't life stay perfect for them all? Andy wondered about that when the clock struck midnight and Naomi arrived with the humans and monsters she'd expected. If they all lived, if they all walked away, then happily ever after would be real for them. Except Ellen, who had lost happily ever after for the time being along with the love of her life. Except for Andy, who had a very uncertain life to look forward to, hunting the monsters alone. She could worry about that later. At that moment, she had much larger concerns.

"Now!" she shouted. Josef moved faster than she'd ever seen Mick go, gripped Naomi by the hair and threw her into Andy's circle. She completely the circle of chalk and a warm amber glow surrounded them for an instant before fading. No one was going to leave that circle until someone died. "Not as quick as you were before," Andy commented, staring down at Naomi's slender form. "And are those wrinkles?" The witch scrambled to her feet and met Andy's stare with eyes that were more than half insane.

"I'll take your life, Andromeda. I will drink your youth and be restored. All you've done is given me the opportunity to feast on power." Magic erupted between them and the fight began.

"Son of a bitch!" Ellen shrieked, clutching her shoulder. The silver bullet seared her muscles, skin and bone. Her pale eyes swung to the young man who'd fired the shot. He didn't even flinch at the sight of her fangs. That changed when Beth tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a face full of mace. She jerked the shotgun out of his hands then struck him with the butt of the gun. He crumbled and Beth tossed the gun to Emma.

"Do you know how to use that thing?"

"No, but I have incredible luck with them," Emma responded. Her eyes widened. "Beth, duck!" The blonde did as she was told and barely avoided having her insides torn out by the transparent creature hovering in the air. The fans weren't blowing in its direction so his form stayed together. "Beth, blow at him!" she shouted as Ellen tried to pull the reporter out of harm's way.

"Blow at him?" she asked incredulously.

"Just do it! You too, Ellen!" Since it was advancing and Ellen couldn't hit a thing that had no body, they did as they were told. Its form blurred slightly as they puffed at it. Emma tried to concentrate on what Andy had told her about forcing her will towards it. She felt like something was burning inside her, boiling over as she spoke, "I free you." It wasn't half as strong as whatever Mona had done before but the creatures weren't picky. They simply wanted their freedom. Without another move they slipped through the crack Emma had forced open, then vanished.

"Oh, my God," Beth said, letting out a weak breath.

"I had similar thoughts," Ellen admitted, making the foolish mistake of relaxing. The scent of natural decay hit her nose before implacable, rotting arms wrapped around her neck and began to pull. A human ripping a vampire's head off was ridiculous. An animated corpse whose body had no limits with the exception of flying and could feel no pain was another thing entirely. It sank its teeth into her injured shoulder and she shrieked, trying to throw it off. Emma started hitting it with the shotgun as hard as she could, hoping a limb would eventually break off.

"We need something sharp," Beth told her, pulling at the zombie, uh, animated corpse's arm and making no progress. Ellen howled, pushed Beth aside and ripped the thing's arm out of its socket and threw it as far as she could. Emma figured it was at the bottom of the cliff by now. The vampire wasn't free yet but the sudden burst of flame from one of the other humans Naomi had brought with her made shrieking alarms go off in her head.

Mick had dived out of the way, which forced him to let go of the corpse he and Josef were ripping apart. The flame moved towards the other vampire who was still struggling with the body and unable to move as fast. Killed by a human? Unacceptable. He ripped the zombie off of him and threw it at the flame heading towards him. It didn't block all of the scorching heat. Fire caught his jacket and Josef could feel the imminent shriveling of his flesh.

"Josef!" His all too human Emma barreled into him and pushed them both into the pool. As they surfaced he held her close, patting her back to help as she coughed out the water she'd inadvertently breathed in. "Fire," she mumbled weakly in between coughs. The flamethrower splashed into the pool besides them and sank to the bottom.

"Not anymore, apparently." And Mick was letting the human boy know exactly how angry a vampire got when threatened with incineration. "At least you weren't angry at me this time." Emma stared at him.

"What about this time?"

"Well, this time you pushed me into the pool because you wanted to save me. Last time was a little different." She figured out what he was referring to and immediately began to laugh. Zombies, idiot humans and a battle between witches but she could still laugh. "Marry me." The laughter immediately stopped as she gaped at him.

"What?"

Andy dove to the ground as a bolt of power shot over her head and struck the shield, sizzling out. She launched herself from that position, taking Naomi down. The witches struggled intensely but Andy's vampire strength trumped Naomi's only human capabilities. Magic crackled around them, will against will.

"Going to kill me, Andy dear?" she hissed out. Andy stared down at the visibly aging face of Naomi and shook her head.

"No." She flipped the witch over, jerked a knife out of her belt then sliced Naomi's shirt open. Immediately she began to flail and scream.

"Get off of me! No!" Andy didn't take long staring at the intricate tattoos on Naomi's back. She knew where to sever the lines of protection. With a quick, precise movement she cut across the woman's back. Blood welled up, sick and rotting.

"I surrender you to higher powers, Naomi." She lifted the witch up and met her eyes. Naomi could see Andy but that wasn't all. Mona stared out at her with a quiet, immovable power. "They've been waiting for you." The witch's scream ripped the air. Wind howled, the earth shook and as the moon seemed to glow Naomi faded in Andy's hands until there was nothing left but dust. Even the dust was carried away on the wind to be taken far from any human place.

Andy fell down, sitting on the ground and beginning to feel a little numb. She stared out at the staring faces of her tiny army. They were all still alive. Her lips twitched upward in a smile. "Well, what do you know," she murmured. "We kicked ass. Hooray." Her eyes rolled back in her head and darkness swallowed up her vision. Someone shouted her name. Andy ignored it.

Even the undead deserved a little rest, after all.


	27. Epilogue: The Witch and the Potter

Epilogue: The Witch and the Potter

Emma hadn't been sure what to expect when Andy woke up. She'd been unconscious and stashed in one of Josef's freezers for hours. After the sun had risen, the other vampires followed her example. Beth was sound asleep in a guest room while Emma… Well, once Josef had left her side to seek his own unconscious bliss, she hadn't been able to get to sleep. That made her the first and, as it turned out, only person to see Andy that day.

Andy had gathered the things she'd brought to Josef's house. Her tools, candles, clothes, herbs and other things she'd picked up along the way were all neatly packed in two bags. As she stood in Josef's lavish kitchen and poured a glass of A positive, her favorite blood type although she didn't know why, Andy acknowledged the fact that she could definitely use a few more hours of sleep. Her energy had been seriously depleted after the fight. Magic took a great deal of concentration and self-control. The way she'd fought with Naomi had been wild with desperation underlying every word and motion. It wasn't a shock that she'd passed out once it was over. The important thing to remember was that she won. Naomi was dead.

She wasn't the only one. Andy felt a sharp pang and her eyes began to water. Quickly she took a deep gulp of blood. She needed to celebrate, not mourn. Mona wouldn't have wanted her tears during a time like this. So Andy would celebrate, at some point. This morning, however, was for a quick getaway. The sooner she was gone, the sooner Mick and Beth could resume a normal relationship without the added stress of 'the other woman'. Andy snorted. As if she had ever been the other woman. There had only ever been one woman and it wasn't Andy.

"Are you leaving?" She turned around to look at Emma. The older woman glanced at the luggage then back up at Andy's eyes. "Can't you wait for everyone to wake up?"

"I'm no good with goodbyes. Besides, Mick will probably give me some trouble. A week and a few days might be a little early for a fledgling to leave the nest," Andy admitted, setting down the glass.

"What is it like, exactly?" Emma asked her. Andy could see the curiosity and she wasn't particularly surprised. After the baby was born, the topic of immortality was going to come up. Emma would probably choose eternity with Josef over the mortal experience of aging then dying. Andy would do the same thing.

"It's different for me. I've spent most of my life learning to control myself so that I won't abuse my gifts. The average fledgling has to learn a lot of control before they're safe around humans. Not to mention that some of them don't even know that vampires exist when they become one. Knowledge and self-control are key." Andy paused and studied Emma's considering expression. "If you want my advice, practice meditation for the next nine months. It'll help."

"I haven't made any decisions yet," Emma pointed out although they both knew that she was going to relatively soon.

"I'm just saying it wouldn't hurt." Andy washed out her glass then walked towards her bags. The longer she stayed to chat, the greater the chance of running into Mick. That was definitely not on her list of things to do. "Good luck to you and Josef. He's a good man."

"Andy, I can't help but feel that you're running away," Emma told her honestly. "I don't think you should leave things with Mick the way they are now."

"Everything's perfect with Mick," she replied tightly, picking up a bag and slinging it over her shoulder. "He's dealing with his vampire nature, he has his girl back and I am going to disappear. You could say that Mick's life could never get better."

"What about your life?" she asked.

"I think mine will definitely improve once I get out of Los Angeles," Andy muttered. "I appreciate the concern but I do have to report back to the other magic families and let them know exactly what happened. We lost a lot of good witches hunting Naomi and I'll be needed to take over my mother's job. Naomi wasn't the only magic abuser in the world."

"Then you don't intend to come back," Emma murmured. She didn't know what all happened between Mick and Andy but she could tell that there were feelings there. Powerful feelings that weren't going to disappear with a little distance and time. The problem for Emma was that she was Beth's friend but she owed Andy her life. God only knew what Mick wanted. He was impossible to read. If he wanted to find Andy once she'd left, then he could. He was a private investigator after all. How much would it hurt Andy if he didn't try to find her at all? "Thank you for everything," she said at last, giving the witch a tight hug.

"It was my job," Andy said, feeling a little awkward in the human's embrace. "Just take care of that kid. I can't see the future but I can guess you'll be having some problems." Emma drew back.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Emma. You're carrying the child of a four hundred year old vampire. The supernatural community is going to be buzzing. A lot of people will assume it's not Josef's but he hasn't been hiding these past few weeks. There are plenty of vamps that know he was human for a brief period of time. I can't say what will happen but I know something will. You're sort of a magnet for trouble." Emma smiled weakly.

"Yeah. I've heard that before." She pressed her hand protectively against her womb. Andy felt a twinge of guilt for worrying her but better safe than sorry. She picked up her other bag.

"Will you say goodbye to the rest of them for me? Just say I had to get going and couldn't wait." She smiled briefly at Emma then headed for the door.

"Is there anything in particular you'd like me to tell Mick?" Andy paused for a moment. A variety of responses ran through her head. Finally she reached up and took the gold pentagram earring out. She tossed it to Emma.

"Give him that. There's nothing wrong with a little extra protection." Then she was gone in a blur of movement Emma couldn't track. The potter wrapped her fingers tight around the earring. It didn't feel like an end to her. For some reason, Emma felt as if the real trouble was only just beginning.

End of Part Two


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